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' 























The 

Boy Mechanic 

MS’! 

700 THINGS FOR BOYS TO DO 

_ V / 


HOW TO CONSTRUCT 

WIRELESS OUTFITS, BOATS, CAMP EQUIPMENT, AERIAL 
GLIDERS, KITES, SELF-PROPELLED VEHICLES, 
ENGINES, MOTORS, ELECTRICAL 
APPARATUS, CAMERAS 

AND 

HUNDREDS OF OTHER THINGS WHICH DELIGHT EVERY BOY 


WITH 800 ILLUSTRATIONS 


Copyrighted, 1913, by H. H. WINDSOR 


CHICAGO 

POPULAR MECHANICS CO. 

PUBLISHERS 














t 









* 








/2 — 

t 

$/s* 

©Cl.A34 6032 




A Model Steam Engine 


The accompanying sketch illustrates 
a two-cylinder, single-acting, poppet- 
valve steam engine of simple construc¬ 
tion that can be made at home by the 
average boy having a few tools. The 
materials which make up the parts are 
such as can be easily shaped by hand 
and with hand tools, and are so de¬ 
signed that most of the parts can be cut 
from pieces of metal readily purchased 
at any local hardware store. 

The only parts requiring any machine 
work are the pistons and the flywheel, 
which can be finished in a local machine 
shop at a reasonable cost. The pistons, 
if fitted closely to the bore of the cylin¬ 
ders, will require no rings or other 
packing, the cost of the machine work 
thus being reduced. 

The entire engine, excepting the fly¬ 
wheel, shaft, valve cams, pistons and 
bracing rods connecting the upper and 
lower plates of the frame proper, is of 
brass, the parts named being of cast 
iron and bar steel. 

The cylinders G are of seamless brass 
tubing, 1% in. outside diameter; the 
pistons H are ordinary 1-in. pipe caps, 
turned to a plug fit and ground into the 
cylinders with oil and emery. This op¬ 
eration also finishes the inside of the 
cylinders. 

The upright rods, binding the top and 
bottom plates, are of steel rod, about 
% in. in diameter, threaded into the 
top plate and passing through holes in 
the bottom plate with hexagonal brass 
nuts beneath. 

The valves C, and their seats B, 
bored with a countersink bit, are 
plainly shown. The valves are made 
by threading a copper washer, % in. in 
diameter, and screwing it on the end of 
the valve rod, then wiping on roughly 
a tapered mass of solder and grinding 
it into the seats with emery and oil. 

The valve rods operate in guides, D, 
made of %-in. brass tubing, which 
passes through the top plate and into 
the heavy brass bar containing the 
valve seats and steam passages into 
which they are plug-fitted and soldered. 


The location and arrangement of the 
valve seats and steam passages are 
shown in the sketch, the flat bar con¬ 
taining them being soldered to the top 
plate. 

The steam chest A, over the valve 
mechanism, is constructed of 1-in. 



square Grass tubing, one side being 
sawed out and the open ends fitted 
with pieces of iVin. sheet brass and 
soldered in. The steam inlet is a gas¬ 
oline-pipe connection, such as used on 
automobiles. 

The valve-operating cams F are 
made of the metal ends of an old type¬ 
writer platen, one being finished to 
shape and then firmly fastened face to 
face to the other, and used as a pat¬ 
tern in filing the other to shape. At¬ 
tachment to the shaft N is by means 
of setscrews which pass through the 
sleeves. In shaping the cams as well 
as making the crankshaft, be sure to 
get the parts uniform so that they will 
run freely in their bearings and not 
bind. This will insure a free engine 
that will take but little steam to 
drive. 

The main bearings M on the sup¬ 
ports O, and the crank-end bearings 
of the connecting rod K, are split and 
held in position by means of machine 










































































2 


screws with provision for taking them 
up when worn. 

The exhausting of spent steam is 
accomplished by means of slots, I, 
sawed into the fronts of the cylinders 
at about Vs in. above the lowest posi¬ 
tion of the piston’s top at the end of 
the stroke, at which position of the 
piston the valve rod drops into the cut¬ 
out portion of the cam and allows the 
valve to seat/ 

All the work on this engine, save 
turning the pistons, which was done 


in a machine shop for a small sum, 
and making the flywheel, this being 
taken from an old dismantled model, 
was accomplished with a hacksaw, 
bench drill, carborundum wheel, files, 
taps and dies. The base, Q, is made 
of a heavy piece of brass. 

The action is smooth and the speed 
high. Steam is supplied by a sheet- 
brass boiler of about 3 pt. capacity, 
heated with a Bunsen burner.—Con¬ 
tributed by Harry F. Lowe, Wash¬ 
ington, D. C. 


Magic Spirit Hand 


The magic hand made of wax is 
given to the audience for examination, 
also a board which is suspended by 
four pieces of common picture-frame 
wire. The hand is placed upon the 
board and answers, by rapping, any 
question asked by members of the au¬ 
dience. The hand and the board may 
be examined at any time and yet the 
rapping can be continued, though sur¬ 
rounded by the audience. 

The Magic Wand, London, gives 
the secret of this spirit hand as fol¬ 
lows: The hand is prepared by con¬ 
cealing in the wrist a few soft iron 
plates, the wrist being afterwards 
bound with black velvet as shown in 
Fig. 1. The board is hollow, the top 
being made of thin veneer (Fig. 2). 
A small magnet, A, is connected to a 
small flat pocket lamp battery, B. The 
board is suspended by four lengths of 
picture-frame wire one of which, E, is 



Wax Hand on Board 


a connecting plug at the top. The 
plug can be taken out or put in as de¬ 
sired. 

The top of the board must be made 
to open or slide off so that when the 
battery is exhausted a new one can be 
installed. Everything must be firmly 
fixed to the board and the hollow space 
filled in with wax, which will make 
the board sound solid when tapped. 

In presenting the trick, the per¬ 
former gives the hand and board with 
wires and switch for examination, 
keeping the plug concealed in his right 
hand. When receiving the board 
back, the plug is secretly pushed into 
the switch, which is held in the right 
hand. The hand is then placed on the 
board over the magnet. When the 
performer wishes the hand to move he 
pushes the plug in, which turns on the 
current and causes the magnet to at¬ 
tract the iron in the wrist, and will, 



connected to the battery and another, 
D, to the magnet. The other wires, F 
and G, are only holding wires. All 
the wires are fastened to a small orna¬ 
mental switch, H, which is fitted with 


therefore, make the hand rap. The 
switch can be made similar to an or¬ 
dinary push button so the rapping 
may be easily controlled without de¬ 
tection by the audience. 


















3 



During the winter months everyone 
is thinking of skating, coasting or ski- 
running and jumping. Those too 
timid to run down a hill standing up¬ 
right on skis must take their pleasure 
in coasting or skating. 

The ordinary ski can be made into 
a coasting ski-toboggan by joining two 
pairs together with bars without in¬ 
jury to their use for running and jump¬ 
ing. The ordinary factory-made skis 
cost from $2.50 per pair up, but any 
boy can make an excellent pair for 50 
cents. < 

In making a pair of skis, select two 
strips of Norway pine free from knots, 
1 in. thick, 4 in. wide and 7 or 8 ft. 
long. Try to procure as fine and 
straight a grain as possible. The 
pieces are dressed thin at both ends 
leaving about 1 ft. in the center the 
full thickness of 1 in., and gradually 
thinning to a scant % in. at the ends. 
One end of each piece is tapered to a 
point beginning 12 in. from the end. 
A groove is cut on the under side, 
about % in. wide and % in. deep, and 
running almost the full length of the 
ski. This will make it track straight 
and tends to prevent side slipping. 
The shape of each piece for a ski, as it 
appears before bending, is shown in 
Fig. 1. 

The pointed end of each piece is 
placed in boiling water for at least 1 
hour, after which the pieces are ready 
for bending. The bend is made on an 
ordinary stepladder. The pointed ends 
are stuck under the back of one step 
and the other end securely tied to the 


ladder, as shown in Fig. 2. The}^ 
should remain tied to the ladder 48 
hours in a moderate temperature, after 
which they will hold their shape 
permanently. 

The two straps, Fig. 3, are nailed on 
a little forward of the center of gravity 
so that when the foot is lifted, the front 



Fig. 1 Fig. 2 


■ — Q - . ^ 

Fig. 3—Forming the Skis 

of the ski will be raised. Tack on a 
piece of sheepskin or deer hide where 
the foot rests, Fig. 4. 

The best finish for skis is boiled lin¬ 
seed oil. After two or three applica- 














4 



Fig. 4 —The Toe Straps 


tions the under side will take a polish 
like glass from the contact with the 
snow. 

The ski-toboggan is made by placing 
two pairs of skis together side by side 


I t* 



f '? * 


P 


’ a * 

• > 

] In jS 4 


Fig. 5 — Ski-Toboggan 


and fastening them with two bars 
across the top. The bars are held with 
V-shaped metal clips as shown in Fig. 
5.—Contributed by Frank Scobie, 
Sleepy Eye, Minn. 


Homemade Life Preserver 


Procure an inner tube of a bicycle 
tire, the closed-end kind, and fold it in 
four alternate sections, as shown in 
Fig. 1. Cut or tear a piece of cloth 
into strips about % in. wide, and knot 
them together. Fasten this long strip 
of cloth to the folded tube and weave 
it alternately in and out, having each 



Fig. I 



run of the cloth about 4 in. apart, un¬ 
til it is bound as shown in Fig. 1. 

Make a case of canvas that will 
snugly fit the folded tube when in¬ 


flated. The straps that hold the pre¬ 
server to the body may be made of old 
.suspender straps. They are sewed to 
the case at one end and fastened at the 
other with clasps such as used on over¬ 
all straps. The tube can be easily in¬ 
flated by blowing into the valve, at the 
same time holding the valve stem down 
with the teeth. The finished preserver 
is shown in Fig. 2. 


How to Make Boomerangs 

When the ice is too thin for skating 
and the snow is not right for skis, 
about the only thing to do is to stay 
in the house. A boomerang club will 
help to fill in between and also fur¬ 
nishes good exercise for the muscles 
of the arm. A boomerang can be made 



of a piece of well seasoned hickory 
plank. The plank is well steamed in a 
wash "boiler or other large kettle and 
then bent to a nice curve, as shown in 
Fig. 1. It is held in this curve until 
dry, with two pieces nailed on the sides 
as shown. 

After the piece is thoroughly dried 
out, remove the side pieces and cut it 
into sections with a saw, as shown in 
Fig. 2 . The pieces are then dressed 
round. A piece of plank 12 in. wide 
and 2 ft. long will make six boom¬ 
erangs. 

To throw a boomerang, grasp it and 
hold the same as a club, with the hol¬ 
low side away from you. Practice 
first at some object about 25 ft. distant, 
and in a short time the thrower will be 
able to hit the mark over 100 ft. away. 
Any worker in wood can turn out a 
great number of boomerangs cheaply. 
—Contributed by J. E. Noble, Toronto* 
Ontario. 


V 































5 


How to Make an Eskimo Snow House 

By GEORGE E. WALSH 


Playing in the snow can be raised 
to a fine art if boys and girls will build 
their creations with some attempt at 
architectural skill and not content 
themselves with mere rough work. 
Working in snow and ice opens a wide 
field for an expression of taste and 
invention, but the construction of 
houses and forts out of this plastic 
material provides the greatest amount 
of pleasure to the normally healthy boy 
or girl. 

The snow house of the Eskimo is 
probably the unhealthiest of buildings 
made by any sav¬ 
age to live in, but 
it makes an excel¬ 
lent playhouse in 
winter, and repre¬ 
sents at the same 
time a most ingen¬ 
ious employment 
of the arch sys¬ 
tem in building. 

The Eskimos 
build their snow 
houses without the aid of any scaf¬ 
folding or interior falsework, and while 
there is a keystone at the top of the 
dome, it is not essential to the support 
of the walls. These are self-support¬ 
ing from the time the first snow blocks 
are put down until the last course is 
laid. 

The snow house is of the beehive 
shape and the ground plan is that of a 
circle. The circle is first laid out on 
the ground and a space cleared for it. 
Then a row of snow blocks is laid on 
the ground and another course of 
similar blocks placed on 
top. The snow blocks 
are not exactly square 
in shape, but about 12 
in. long, 6 in. high and 
4 or 5 in. thick. Larger 
or smaller blocks can 
be used, according to 
size of the house and 
thickness of the walls. 


First, the snow blocks must be 
packed and pressed firmly into position 
out of moist snow that will pack. A 
very light, dry snow will not pack 
easily, and it may be necessary to use 
a little water. If the snow is of the 
right consistency, there will be no 
trouble in packing and working with 
it. As most of the blocks are to be of 
the same size throughout, it will pay 
to make a mold for them by forming a 
box of old boards nailed together, 
minus the top, and with a movable 
bottom, or rather no bottom at all. 

Place the four¬ 
sided box on a flat 
board and ram 
snow in it, forcing 
it down closely. 
Then by lifting 
the box up and 
tapping the box 
from above, the 
block will drop 
out. In this way 
blocks of uniform 
size are formed, which makes the 
building simpler and easier. 

While one boy makes the blocks an¬ 
other can shave them off at the edges 
and two others can build the house, 
one inside of the circle and the other 
outside. The Eskimos build their snow 
houses in this way, and the man inside 
stays there until he is completely 
walled in. Then the door and a win¬ 
dow are cut through the wall. 

Each layer of snow blocks must 
have a slight slant at the top toward 
the center so that the walls will con- 




Three-Room Snow House 























6 


stantly curve inward. This slant at 
the top is obtained better by slicing 
off the lower surfaces of each block 
before putting it in its course. The 
top will then have a uniform inward 
slant. 

The first course of the snow house 
should be thicker than the others, and 
the thickness of the walls gradually 
decreases toward the top. A wall, 
however, made of 6-in. blocks through¬ 
out will hold up a snow house perfectly, 
if its top is no more than 6 or 7 ft. 
above the ground. If a higher house 
is needed the walls should be thicker 
at the base and well up toward the 
middle. 

The builder has no mortar for bind¬ 
ing the blocks together, and therefore 
he must make his joints smooth and 
even and force in loose snow to fill 
up the crevices. A little experience 
will enable one to do this work well, 
and the construction of the house will 
proceed rapidly. The Eskimos build 


additions to their houses by adding 
various dome-shaped structures to one 
side, and the young architect can imi¬ 
tate them. Such dome-shaped struc¬ 
tures are shown in one of the illus¬ 
trations. 

A fact not well understood and ap¬ 
preciated is that the Eskimo beehive 
snow house represents true arch build¬ 
ing. It requires no scaffolding in build¬ 
ing and it exerts no outward thrust 
In the ordinary keystone arch used 
by builders, a temporary structure 
must be erected to hold the walls up 
until the keystone is fitted in position, 
and the base must be buttressed 
against an outward thrust. The Eski¬ 
mo does not have to consider these 
points. There is no outward thrust, 
and the top keystone is not necessary 
to hold the structure up. It is doubt¬ 
ful whether such an arch could be built 
of brick or stone without scaffolding, 
but with the snow blocks it is a simple 
matter. 


Secret Door Lock 


The sketch shows the construction of 
a lock I have on a door which is quite 
a mystery to those who do not know 
how it operates. It also keeps them 
out. The parts of the lock on the in¬ 
side of the door are shown in Fig. 1. 
These parts can be covered so that no 
one can see them. 



The Lock Parts 


The ordinary latch and catch A are 
attached to the door in the usual man¬ 
ner. The latch is lifted with a stick of 
wood B, which is about 1 ft. long and 
1 in. wide, and pivoted about two- 


thirds of the way from the top as 
shown. The latch A is connected to 
the stick B with a strong cord run 
through a staple to secure a right-an¬ 
gle pull between the pieces. A nail, C, 
keeps the stick B from falling over to 
the left. The piece of wood, D, is 6 or 
8 in. long and attached to a bolt that 
runs through the door, the opposite 
end being fastened to the combination 
dial. Two kinds of dials are shown in 
Fig. 2 . The piece D is fastened on the 
bolt an inch or two from the surface of 
the door to permit placing a spiral 
spring of medium strength in between 
as shown in Fig. 3. The opposite end 
of the bolt may be screwed into the 
dial, which can be made of wood, or 
an old safe dial will do. A nail is 
driven through the outer end of the 
piece D and the end cut off so that it 
will pass over the piece B when .the 
dial is turned. When the dial is pulled 
out slightly and then turned toward 
the right, the nail will catch on the 

















piece B and open the latch.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Geo. Goodbrod, Union, Ore. 


A Convenient Hot-Dish Holder 

When taking hot dishes from the 
stove, it is very convenient to have 
holders handy for use. For this pur¬ 
pose I screwed two screweyes into the 
ceiling, one in front of the stove di¬ 
rectly above the place where the holder 
should hang, and the other back of the 
stove and out of the way. I next ran 
a strong cord through the two eyes. 
To one end of the cord I attached a 
weight made of a clean lump of coal. 
The cord being just long enough to 
let the weight hang a few inches above 
the floor and pass through both screw- 
eyes. I fastened a small ring to the 
other end to keep the cord from slip¬ 
ping back by the pull of the weight. 
I then fastened two pieces of string to 
the ring at the end of the cord and at¬ 
tached an iron holder to the end of 
each string. The strings should be 
just long enough to keep the holders 
just over the stove where they are al¬ 



ways ready for use, as the weight 
always draws them back to place.— 
Contributed by R. S. Merrill, Syracuse, 
New York. 


Magic-Box Escape 

The things required to make this 
trick are a heavy packing box with 
cover, one pair of special hinges, one 
or two hasps for as many padlocks and 
a small buttonhook, says the Sphinx. 


The hinges must be the kind for at¬ 
taching inside of the box. If ordinary 
butts are used, the cover of the box 



must be cut as much short as the 
thickness of the end board. The hinges 
should have pins that will slip easily 
through the parts. 

Before entering the box the per¬ 
former conceals the buttonhook on his 
person, and as soon as the cover is 
closed and locked, and the box placed 
in a cabinet or behind a screen, he 
pushes the pin or bolt of the hinge out 
far enough to engage the knob end 
with the buttonhook which is used to 
pull the pin from the hinge. Both 
hinges are treated in this manner and 
the cover pushed up, allowing the per¬ 
former to get out and unlock the pad¬ 
locks with a duplicate key. The bolts 
are replaced in the hinges, the box 
relocked and the performer steps out 
in view. 


A Flour Sifter 

When sifting flour in an ordinary 
sieve I hasten the process and avoid the 
disagreeable necessity of keeping my 
hands in the flour by taking the top 
from a small tin lard can and placing 
it on top of the flour with its sharp 
edges down. When the sieve is 
shaken, the can top will round up the 
flour and press it through quickly.— 
Contributed by L. Alberta Norrell, 
Augusta, Ga. 


GAn automobile horn with the bulb 
and reed detached makes a good 
funnel. It must be thoroughly cleaned 
and dried after using as a funnel. 





















8 


How to Make Comer Pieces for a Blotter Pad 


To protect the corners of blotting 
pads such as will be found on almost 
every writing desk, proceed as follows: 

First, make a design of a size pro¬ 
portionate to the size of the pad and 
make a right-angled triangle, as shown 
in Fig. 1, on drawing paper. Leave a 
small margin all around the edge and 
then place some decorative form there¬ 
in. Make allowance for flaps on two 
sides, as shown, which may later be 
turned back and folded under when the 
metal is worked. It should be noted 
that the corners of the design are to 
be clipped slightly. Also note the 
slight overrun at the top with the re¬ 
sulting V-shaped indentation. 

To make a design similar to the one 
shown, draw one-half of it, then fold 
along the center line and rub the back 
of the paper with a knife handle or 
some other hard, smooth surface, and 
the other half of the design will be 
traced on the second side. With the 
metal shears, cut out four pieces of 
copper or brass of No. 22 gauge and 
with carbon paper trace the shape and 
decorative design on the metal. Then 
cut out the outline and file the edges 
smooth. 

Cover the metal over with two coats 
of black asphaltum varnish, allowing 
each coat time to dry. Cover the back 
and all the face except the white back¬ 
ground. Immerse in a solution of 3 
parts water, 1 part nitric acid and 1 
part sulphuric acid. When the metal 
has been etched to the desired depth, 
about 1-32 of an inch, remove it and 
clean off the asphaltum with turpen¬ 
tine. Use a stick with a rag tied on 
the end for this purpose so as to keep 
the solution off the hands and clothes. 
The four pieces should be worked at 
the same time, one for each corner. 

It remains to bend the flaps. Place 
the piece in a vise, as shown in Fig. 2, 
and bend the flap sharply to a right 
angle. Next place a piece of metal of 
a thickness equal to that of the blotter 
pad at the bend and with the mallet 
bring the flap down parallel to the face 


of the corner piece, Fig. 3. If the 
measuring has been done properly, the 
flaps ought to meet snugly at the cor¬ 
ner. If they do not, it may be neces- 



Manner of Forming the Plates 

sary to bend them back and either re¬ 
move some metal with the shears or to 
work the metal over farther. All the 
edges should be left smooth, a metal 
file and emery paper being used for 
this purpose. 

If a touch of color is desired, it may 
be had by filling the etched parts with 
enamel tinted by the addition of oil 
colors, such as are used for enameling 
b thtubs. After this has dried, smooth 
it off with pumice stone and water. To 
keep the metal from tarnishing, cover 
it with banana-oil lacquer. 


Boring Holes in Cork 

The following hints will be found 
useful when boring holes in cork. In 
boring through rubber corks, a little 
household ammonia applied to the bit 
enables one to make a much smoother 
hole and one that is nearly the same 
size at both openings. The common 
cork, if rolled under the shoe sole, can 
be punctured easily and a hole can be 
bored straighten The boring is made 
easier by boiling the cork, and this 
operation insures a hole that will be 
the desired size and remain the size of 
the punch or bit used. 




9 


Self-Lighting Arc Searchlight 


A practical and easily constructed 
self-lighting arc searchlight can be 
made in the following manner: Pro¬ 
cure a large can, about 6 in. in diam¬ 
eter, and cut three holes in its side 
about 2 in. from the back end, and in 
the positions shown in the sketch. 
Two of the holes are cut large enough 
to hold a short section of a garden hose 
tightly, as shown at AA. A piece of 
porcelain tube, B, used for insulation, 
is fitted tightly in the third hole. The 
hose insulation A should hold the car¬ 
bon F rigidly, while the carbon E 
should rest loosely in its insulation. 

The inner end of the carbon E is 
supported by a piece of No. 25 Ger¬ 
man-silver wire, C, which is about 6 
in. long. This wire runs through the 



porcelain tube to the binding post D. 
The binding post is fastened to a wood 
plug in the end of the tube. The tube 
B is adjusted so that the end of the car¬ 
bon E is pressing against the carbon F. 
The electric wires are connected to the 
carbon F and the binding post D. A 
resistance, R, should be in the line. 

The current, in passing through the 
lamp, heats the strip of German-silver 
wire, causing it to expand. This ex¬ 
pansion lowers the end of the carbon 
E, separating the points of the two 
carbons and thus providing a space be¬ 
tween them for the formation of an arc. 
When the current is turned off, the 
German-silver wire contracts and 
draws the two carbon ends together 
ready for lighting again. The feed can 
be adjusted by sliding the carbon F 
through its insulation. 


A resistance for the arc may be made 
by running the current through a water 
rheostat or through 15 ft. of No. 25 
gauge German-silver wire.—Contrib¬ 
uted by R. H. Galbreath, Denver, Colo. 


A Traveler’s Shaving Mug 

Take an ordinary collapsible drink¬ 
ing cup and place a cake of shaving 
soap in the bottom ring. This will pro¬ 
vide a shaving mug always ready for 
the traveler and one that will occupy 
very little space in the grip. 


Homemade Snowshoes 

Secure four light barrel staves and 
sandpaper the outside smooth. Take 
two old shoes that are extra large and 
cut off the tops and heels so as to leave 
only the toe covering fastened to the 
sole. Purchase two long book straps, 
cut them in two in the middle and 
fasten the ends on the toe covering, as 
shown in Fig. 1. The straps are used 
to attach the snowshoe to the regular 
shoe. When buckling up the straps be 
sure to leave them loose enough for the 
foot to work freely, Fig. 2. Fasten the 
barrel staves in pairs, leaving a space of 
4 in. between them as shown in Fig. 3, 
with thin strips of wood. Nail the old 




Fig. 3 


Made from Barrel Staves 


shoe soles to crosspieces placed one- 
third of the way from one end as 
shown.—Contributed by David Brown, 
Kansas City, Mo. 





















10 


Fish Signal for Fishing through Ice 

Watching a fishline set in a hole cut 
in the ice on a cold day is very dis¬ 
agreeable, and the usual method is to 



have some kind of a device to signal 
the fisherman when a fish is hooked. 
The “tipups” and the “jumping jacks” 
serve their purpose nicely, but a more 
elaborate device is the electric signal. 
A complete electric outfit can be in¬ 
stalled in a box and carried as con¬ 
veniently as tackle. 

An ordinary electric bell, A, Fig. 1, 
having a gong 2% in. in diameter, and 
a pocket battery, B, are mounted on the 
bottom of the box. The electric con¬ 
nection to the bell is plainly shown. 
Two strips of brass, C, are mounted on 
the outside of the box. The brass 
strips are shaped in such a way as to 
form a circuit when the ends are pulled 
together. The box is opened and set 
on the ice near the fishing hole. The 
fish line is hung over a round stick 
placed across the hole and then tied to 
the inside strip of brass. When the 
fish is hooked the line will pull the 
brass points into contact and close the 
electric circuit. 


Homemade Floor Polisher 

A floor polisher is something that one 
does not use but two or three times a 
year. Manufactured polishers come 
in two sizes, one weighing 15 lb., which 
is the right weight for family use, and 
one weighing 25 lb. 

A polisher can be made at home that 


will do the work just as well. Procure 
a wooden box such as cocoa tins or 
starch packages are shipped in and 
stretch several thicknesses of flannel 
or carpet over the bottom, allowing 
the edges to extend well up the sides, 
and tack smoothly. Make a handle of 
two stout strips of wood, 36 in. long, 
by joining their upper ends to a shorter 
crosspiece and nail it to the box. Place 
three paving bricks inside of the box, 
and the polisher will weigh about 16 
lb., just the right weight for a woman 
to use. The polisher is used by rub¬ 
bing with the grain of the wood.—Con¬ 
tributed by Katharine D. Morse, Syr¬ 
acuse, N. Y. 


Tying Paper Bag to Make a Carrying 
Handle 

In tying the ordinary paper bag, the 
string can be placed in the paper in 
such a way that it will form a handle 
to carry the package, and also prevent 
any leakage of the contents. The bag 
must be long enough for the end to 
fold over as shown in Fig. 1. The 
folds are made over the string, as in 



Stages in Tying a Bag 


Fig. 2. The string is then tied, Fig. 3, 
to form a handle, Fig. 4.—Contributed 
by James M. Kane, Doylestown, Pa. 

































n 


Equilibrator for Model Aeroplanes 


On one of my model aeroplanes I 
placed an equilibrator to keep it bal¬ 
anced. The device was attached to a 
crosspiece fastened just below the 


at the lower end and two lines con¬ 
necting the ends of the planes at the 
upper end. These are shown in Fig. 
1. When the aeroplane tips, as 



propeller between the main frame up¬ 
rights. A stick was made to swing 
on a bolt in the center of the cross¬ 
piece to which was attached a weight 


shown in Fig. 2, the ^weight draws the 
lines to warp the plane so it will right 
itself automatically.—Contributed by 
Louis J. Day, Floral Park, N. Y. 


Repairing Christmas-Tree Decora¬ 
tions 

Small glass ornaments for Christ¬ 
mas-tree decora¬ 
tion are very 
easily broken on 
the line shown 
in the sketch. 
These can be 
easily repaired 
by inserting in 
the neck a piece of match, toothpick 
or splinter of wood and tying the 
hanging string to it. 


Homemade Scroll Saw 

A scroll saw, if once used, becomes 
indispensable in any home carpenter 
chest, yet it is safe to say that not one 
in ten contains it. A scroll saw is 
much more useful than a keyhole saw 
for sawing small and irregular holes, 
and many fancy knick-knacks, such as 
brackets, bookracks and shelves can 
be made with one. 

A simple yet serviceable scroll saw 
frame can be made from a piece of 
cold-rolled steel rod, 3/32 or % in. in 
diameter, two %-in. machine screws, 
four washers and four square nuts. 



The rod should be 36 or 38 in. long, 
bent as shown in Fig. 1. Place one 
washer on each screw and put the 
screws through the eyelets, A A, then 
place other washers on and fasten in 
place by screwing one nut on each 
screw, clamping the washers against 
the frame as tightly as possible. The 
saw, which can be purchased at a local 
hardware store, is fastened between 
the clamping nut and another nut as 
shown in Fig. 2. 



If two wing nuts having the same 
number and size of threads are avail¬ 
able, use them in place of the outside 
nuts. They are easier to turn when 



































12 


inserting a saw blade in a hole or 
when removing broken blades.—Con¬ 
tributed by W. A. Scranton, Detroit, 
Michigan. 


How to Make a Watch Fob 

The fixtures for the watch fob shown 
—half size—may be made of either 
brass, copper, or silver. Silver is the 
most desirable but, 
of course, the most 
expensive. The 
buckle is to be pur¬ 
chased. The con¬ 
nection is to be of 
leather of a color to 
harmonize with 
that of the fixtures. 
The body of the fob 
may be of leather 
of suitable color or 
of silk. Of the 
leathers, green and 
browns are the 
most popular, 
though almost any 
color may be ob¬ 
tained. 

Make full size 
drawings of the 
outline and design of the fixtures. 
With carbon paper trace these on the 
metal. Pierce the metal of the parts 
that are to be removed with a small 
hand drill to make a place for the 
leather or silk. With a small metal 
saw cut out these parts and smooth 
up the edges, rounding them slightly 
so they will not cut the leather or silk. 
Next cut out the outlines with the 
metal shears. File these edges, round¬ 
ing and smoothing with emery paper. 
The best way of handling the decora¬ 
tive design is to etch it and, if copper 
or brass, treat it with color. 

For etching, first cover the metal 
with black asphaltum varnish, on the 
back and all the parts that are not to be 
touched with the acid. In the design 
shown, the unshaded parts should not 
be etched and should, therefore, be 
covered the same as the back. Apply 
two coats, allowing each time to dry, 
after which immerse the metal in a 


solution prepared as follows: 3 parts 
water, 1 part nitric acid, 1 part sul¬ 
phuric acid. Allow the metal to re¬ 
main in this until the acid has eaten to 
a depth of % in., then remove it and 
clean in a turpentine bath, using a 
swab and an old stiff brush. The 
amount of time required to do the etch¬ 
ing will depend upon the strength of 
the liquid, as well as the depth of etch¬ 
ing desired. 

For coloring silver, as well as brass 
and copper, cover the metal with a so¬ 
lution of the following: % pt. of water 
in which dissolve, after breaking up, 
five cents’ worth of sulphureted potas¬ 
sium. Put a teaspoonful of this into 
a tin with 2 qt. of water. Polish a piece 
of scrap metal and dip it in the solu¬ 
tion. If it colors the metal red, it has 
the correct strength. Drying will 
cause this to change to purple. Rub 
off the highlights, leaving them the 
natural color of the metal and apply a 
coat of banana-oil lacquer. 


An Austrian Top 

All parts of the top are of wood and 
they are simple to make. The handle 
is a piece of pine, 5% in. long, 1% in¬ 
wide and % in. thick. A handle, % in. 
in diameter, is formed on one end, al¬ 
lowing only 1% in. of the other end 
to remain rectangular in shape. Bore 
a %-in. hole in this end for the top. 
A 1/16-in. hole is bored in the edge to 
enter the large hole as shown. The 
top can be cut from a broom handle or 
a round stick of hardwood. 



To spin the top, take a piece of stout 
cord about 2 ft. long, pass one end 
through the 1/16-in. hole and wind it 
on the small part of the top in the 
usual way, starting at the bottom and 




















13 


winding upward. When the shank is 
covered, set the top in the %-in. hole. 
Take hold of the handle with the left 
hand and the end of the cord with the 
right hand, give a good quick pull on 
the cord and the top will jump clear of 
the handle and spin vigorously.—Con¬ 
tributed by J. F. Tholl, Ypsilanti, 
Michigan. 

Pockets for Spools of Thread 

A detachable pocket for holding 
thread when sewing is shown here¬ 
with. The di¬ 
mensions may 
be varied to ad¬ 
mit any number 
or size of 
spools. Each 
pocket is made 
to take a cer¬ 
tain size spool, 
the end of the 
thread being 
run through the 
cloth front for 
obtaining the length for threading a 
needle. This will keep the thread from 
becoming tangled and enable it al¬ 
ways to be readily drawn out to the re¬ 
quired length.—Contributed by Miss 
L. Alberta Norrell, Augusta, Ga. 



Cleaning Leather on Furniture 

Beat up the whites of three eggs 
carefully and use a piece of flannel to 
rub it well into the leather which will 
become clean and lustrous. For black 
leathers, some lampblack may be added 
and the mixture applied in the same 
way. 


A Baking Pan 

When making cookies, tarts or simi¬ 
lar pastry, the housewife often wishes 
for something by which to lift the 
baked articles from the pan. The bak¬ 
ing tray or pan shown in the sketch 
not only protects the hands from burns 
but allows the baked articles easily to 
slip from its surface. The pan is made 
from a piece of sheet iron slightly 


larger than the baking space desired. 
Each end of the metal is cut so that a 
part may be turned up and into a roll 
to make handles for the pan. 



A wire or small rod is placed be¬ 
tween the handles as shown. This wire 
is fastened at each end and a loop made 
in the center. The pan can be re¬ 
moved from the oven by placing a 
stick through the loop and lifting it 
out without placing the hands inside 
the hot oven. The baking surface, 
having no sides, permits the baked 
articles to be slid off at each side with 
a knife or fork.—A. A. Houghton, 
Northville, Mich. 


A Broom Holder 

A very simple and effective device 
for holding a broom when it is not in 
use is shown in 
the sketch. It 
is m a d e of 
heavy wire and 
fastened to the 
wall with two 
screweyes, the 
e y e s forming 
bearings for 
the wire. The 
small turn o n 
the end of the 
straight part is 
to h o 1 d the 
hook out far 
enough from 
the wall t o 
make it easy to place the broom in the 
hook. The weight of the broom keeps 
it in position.—Contributed by Irl 
Hicks, Centralia, Mo. 



(TA string for drawing electric wires 
into bent fixtures can be easily in¬ 
serted by rolling it into a small ball 
and blowing it through while holding 
one end. 

























14 


A Darkroom Lantern 

Procure an ordinary 2-qt. glass fruit 
jar, break out the porcelain lining in 
the cover and cut a hole through the 
metal, just large enough to fit over 
the socket of an incan¬ 
descent electric globe, 
then solder cover and 
socket together, says 
Studio Light. Line 
the inside of the jar 
with two thicknesses 
of good orange post- 
office paper. The best 
lamp for the purpose is 
an 8-candlepower show¬ 
case lamp, the same 
as shown in the il¬ 
lustration. Screw the 
lamp into the socket 
and screw the cover 
onto the jar, and you have a safe light 
of excellent illuminating power. 

When you desire to work by white 
light, two turns will remove the jar. 


If developing papers are being 
worked, obtain a second jar and line 
with light orange paper, screw into 
the cover fastened to the lamp and you 
have a safe and pleasant light for 
loading and development. By attach¬ 
ing sufficient cord to the lamp, it can 
be moved to any part of the dark¬ 
room, and you have three lamps at a 
trifling cost. 


Preventing Vegetables from Burning 
in a Pot 

Many housekeepers do not know 
that there is a simple way to prevent 
potatoes from burning and sticking to 
the bottom of the pot. An inverted 
pie pan placed in the bottom of the pot 
avoids scorching potatoes. The water 
and empty space beneath the pan saves 
the potatoes. This also makes the 
work of cleaning pots easier as no ad¬ 
hering parts of potatoes are left to be 
scoured out. 



A Clothes Rack 

A clothes-drying rack that has many 
good features can be made as shown in 
When the rack is 


the 

illustration. 



'"A 

- 





— 

- A 

I 

.1 

2 


* 

a " 

i 

\ *1 '1 

\l I 




Folding Clothes Rack 


closed it will fit into a very small space 
and one or more wings can be used at 
a time as the occasion or space per¬ 
mits, and not tip over. The rack can 


be made of any hard wood and the ma¬ 
terial list is as follows: 

1 Center post, VA in. square by 62 in, 

4 Braces, VA in. square by 12 in. 

16 Horizontal bars, 1 bv VA by 24 in. 

4 Vertical pieces, % by 1 by 65 in. 

Attach the four 
braces for the feet 
with finishing nails 
after applying a good 
coat of glue. 

The horizontal bars 
are fastened to the 
vertical pieces with 
rivets using washers 
on both sides. The 
holes are bored a lit¬ 
tle large so as to 
make a slightly loose 
joint. The other ends 
of the bars are fast¬ 
ened to the center 
post with roundhead 
screws. They are fastened, as shown 
in the cross-section sketch, so it can 
be folded up.—Contributed by Herman 
Fosel, Janesville, Wis. 






a 





— 




























































15 


Homemade Shower Bath 



While in the country during vaca¬ 
tion time, I missed my daily bath and 
devised a shower bath that gave com¬ 
plete satisfaction. The back porch 
was inclosed with sheeting for the 
room, and the apparatus consisted of 
a galvanized-iron pail with a short 
nipple soldered in the center of the 
bottom and fitted with a valve and 
sprinkler. The whole, after filling the 
pail with water, was raised above 
one’s head with a rope run over a 
pulley fastened to the roof of the 
porch, and a tub was used on the floor 
to catch the water. A knot should be 
tied in the rope at the right place, to 
keep it from running out of the pulley 
while the pail is lowered to be filled 
with water, and a loop made in the end, 
which is placed over a screwhook 
turned into the wall. If the loop is tied 
at the proper place, the pail will be 
raised to the right height for the per¬ 
son taking the shower bath. 

The water will run from 10 to 15 


minutes. The addition of some hot 
water will make a splendid shower 
bath.—Contributed by Dr. C. H. Rosen¬ 
thal, Cincinnati, O. 


How to Make Small Sprocket Wheels 

As I needed several small sprocket 
wheels and had none on hand, I made 
them quickly without other expense 
than the time required, from scrap 
material. Several old hubs with the 
proper size bore were secured. These 
were put on an arbor and turned to the 
size of the bottom of the teeth. Holes 
were drilled and tapped to correspond 
to the number of teeth required and old 
stud bolts turned into them. The 
wheels were again placed on the arbor 
and the studs turned to the required 
size. After rounding the ends of the 
studs, the sprockets were ready for use 
and gave perfect satisfaction.—Con¬ 
tributed by Charles Stem, Phillipsburg, 
New York. 











































16 


Pot-Cover Closet 


The sides of the cover closet are cut 
as shown in Fig. 1 and shelves are 
nailed between them at a slight angle. 



No dimensions are given as the space 
and the sizes of the covers are not 
always the same. The back is covered 
with thin boards placed vertically. 
The front can be covered with a cur¬ 
tain or a paneled door as shown.— 
Contributed by Gilbert A. Wehr, Bal¬ 
timore, Md. 


Aid in Mixing Salad Dressing 

Some cooks find it a very difficult 
matter to prepare salad dressing, prin¬ 
cipally mayonnaise dressing, as the con¬ 
stant stirring and pouring of oil and 
liquids are required in the operation. 
The simple homemade device shown 
in the accompanying sketch greatly as- 



Bottle in Stand 

sists in this work. It consists of a 
stand to hold a bottle, the mouth of 
which rests against a small gate 
directly in the rear of the attached tin 
trough. The weight of the bottle and 


the contents against the gate serves as 
a check or stopper. If the gate is 
raised slightly, it will permit a con¬ 
tinuous flow of liquid of the desired 
amount. 


Saving Overexposed Developing 
Prints 

In using developing papers, either for 
contact printing or enlargements, you 
are, by all rules of the game, entitled 
to a certain number of overexposed 
prints, says a correspondent of Camera 
Craft. But there is no reason why you 
should lose either the paper or the time 
and trouble expended in making these 
prints. By using the following method, 
you can turn these very dark prints into 
good ones. 

First: these overexposed prints must 
be fully developed. Do not try to save 
them by rushing them out of the de¬ 
veloper into the short-stop or fixing 
bath. The results will be poor, and, if 
you try to tone them afterward, the 
color will be an undesirable, sickly one. 
Develop them into strong prints, thor¬ 
oughly fix, and wash until you are sure 
all hypo is removed. In my own prac¬ 
tice, I carry out this part of the work 
thoroughly, then dry the prints and lay 
aside these dark ones until there is an 
accumulation of a dozen or more, do¬ 
ing this to avoid too frequent use of the 
very poisonous bleaching solution. 
The bleacher is made up as follows and 
should be plainly marked “Poison.” 

Cyanide of potassium. 2 oz. 

Iodide of potassium.20 gr" 

Water.. oz'. 

Place the dry print, without previous 
wetting, in this solution. It will bleach 
slowly and evenly, but, when it starts 
to bleach, transfer it to a tray of water, 
where it will continue to bleach. 
When the desired reduction has taken 
place, stop the action at once by im¬ 
mersing the print in a 10-per-cent so¬ 
lution of borax. The prints may be al¬ 
lowed to remain in this last solution 
until they are finished. A good final 
washing completes the process. This 
washing must be thorough and a 
































sponge or a tuft of cotton used to clean 
the surface of the print. 

With a little practice, this method 
of saving prints that are too dark be- 
comes easy and certain. The prints 
are lightened and at the same time im¬ 
proved in tone, being made blue-black 
with a delicate and pleasing quality 
that will tempt you to purposely over¬ 
expose some of your prints in order to 
tone them by this method for certain 
effects. The process is particularly 
valuable to the worker in large sizes, as 
it provides a means of making quite a 
saving of paper that would otherwise 
be thrown away. 


An Ironing-Board Stand 

An ordinary ironing board is cut 
square on the large end and a slot cut 
1 y 2 in. wide and 4 in. long to admit • 
the angle support. The support is 
placed against the table and the board 


Stand Attached to Table 

is pressed down against the outer notch 
which jams against the table, thus 
holding the board rigid and in such a 
position as to give free access for iron¬ 
ing dresses, etc.—Contributed by T. L. 
Gray, San Francisco, Cal. 


A Desk Blotting Pad 

Procure four sheets of blotting pa¬ 
per, preferably the colored kind, as it 
will appear clean much longer than 
the white. The size of the pad de¬ 
pends on the size of the blotting pa¬ 
per. 

Fold four pieces of ordinary wrap¬ 
ping paper, 5 by 15 in. in size, three 
times, to make it 5 by 5 in. Fold each 
one from corner to corner as shown in 
Fig. 1 and again as in Fig. 2. Paste 
the last fold together and the corner 
holders are complete. Put one on each 
corner of the blotting paper. They 


can be fastened with a small brass 
paper fastener put through the top of 
the holder. The blotting paper can 



Paper Corners for Blotter Pads 


be easily changed by removing the 
holders and fasteners. Corners com¬ 
plete are shown in Fig. 3.—Contrib¬ 
uted by J. Wilson Aldred Toronto, 
Canada. 


Sleeve Holders for Lavatories 

A very handy article is an attach¬ 
ment on wash basins or lavatories for 
holding the sleeves back while washing 
the hands. It is very annoying to have 
the sleeves continually slip down and 
become wet or soiled. The simple de¬ 
vice shown herewith can be made with 
bent wires or hooks and attached in 
such a way that it can be dropped out 



of the way when not in use.—Con¬ 
tributed by L. J. Monahan, Oshkosh, 
Wisconsin. 


CA pencil eraser will remove the tar¬ 
nish from nickel plate, and the ink 
eraser will remove the rust from 
drawing instruments. 




\ 

' . e". ..... . 

% 

< 

\ 

\ 

V 

N 

V 

\ 

X 

) 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 


Fig.I 




























18 


How to Make a Brass Bookmark 


Secure a piece of brass of No. 20 
gauge, having a width of 2% in. and a 
length of 5 in. Make a design similar 
to that shown, the head of which is 2 
in. wide, the shaft 1 in. wide below the 



Fig. 1 Fig. 2 


The Pattern and the Finished Bookmark 

head and the extreme length 4% in. 
Make one-half of the design, as shown 
in Fig. 1, freehand, then trace the other 
half in the usual way, after folding 
along the center line. Trace the design 
on the metal, using carbon paper, 
which gives the outline of the design 
Fig. 2. 

With the metal shears, cut out 
the outline as indicated by the draw¬ 
ing. With files, smooth off any rough- 


Drilling and Sawing the Metal 

ness and form the edge so that it shall 
be nicely rounded. 

The parts of the design in heavy 
color may be treated in several ways. 


A very satisfactory treatment is ob¬ 
tained by etching, then coloring. Clean 
the metal thoroughly with pumice 
stone and water or with alcohol before 
the design is applied. Cover all the 
metal that is not to be lowered with a 
thick coating of asphaltum. Allow this 
to dry, then put on a second coat. After 
this has dried, thoroughly immerse the 
metal in a solution composed as fol¬ 
lows : 3 parts water, 1 part sulphuric 
acid, 1 part nitric acid. 

Allow the metal to remain in this 
solution until the exposed part has 
been eaten about in. deep, then 
remove it and clean off the asphaltum, 
using turpentine. Do not put the 
hands in the solution, but use a swab 
on a stick. 

For coloring olive green, use 2 parts 
water to 1 part permuriate of iron. 
Apply with a small brush. 

The lines at A and B will need to 
be cut, using a small metal saw. Pierce 
a hole with a small drill, Fig. 3, large 
enough to receive the saw and cut 
along the lines as in Fig. 4. A piece of 
wood with a V-shaped notch which is 
fastened firmly to the bench forms the 
best place in which to do such sawing. 
The teeth of the saw should be so 
placed that the sawing will be done on 
the downward stroke. The metal must 
be held firmly, and the saw allowed 
time to make its cut, being held per¬ 
pendicular to the work. 

After the sawing, smooth the edges 
of the metal with a small file and emery 
paper. The metal clip may be bent 
outward to do this part of the work. 


Cheesebox-Cover Tea Tray 

The cover from a cheesebox can be 
converted into a tea tray that is very 
dainty for the piazza, or for serving an 
invalid’s breakfast. 

First sandpaper the wood until it is 
smooth, then stain it a mahogany color. 
The mahogany stain can be obtained 
ready prepared. After the stain has 
dried, attach brass handles, which can 




















19 


be obtained for a small sum at an up¬ 
holsterer’s shop. A round embroid¬ 
ered doily in the bottom adds to the 
appearance of the tray.—Contributed 
by Katharine D. Morse, Syracuse, 
New York. 


Piercing-Punch for Brass 

Drill a in. hole through a block 
of pine or other soft wood 2 in. thick. 
Tack over one end of the hole a piece 
of pasteboard in which seven coarse 
sewing-machine needles have been in¬ 
serted. The needles should be close 
together and pushed through the 
pasteboard until the points show. The 
hole is then filled with melted babbitt 
metal. When this is cold, the block 
is split and the pasteboard removed. 
This tool makes neat pierced work and 
in making brass shades, it does the 
work rapidly.—Contributed by H. 
Carl Cramer, East Hartford, Conn. 


Kitchen Chopping Board 

Cooks can slice, chop or mince veg¬ 
etables and various other food rapidly 
by placing the little device, as shown, 
on a chopping board. It is an ordinary 
staple, driven in just far enough to 
allow a space for the end of an ordi¬ 
nary pointed kitchen knife to fit in it. 
The staple is driven in the edge of the 
chopping board. The knife can be 
raised and lowered with one hand, as 



Knife Attached to the Board 


the material is passed under the blade 
with the other. Great pressure can be 
applied and the knife will not slip.— 
Contributed by M. M. Burnett, Rich¬ 
mond, Cal. 


GSew straps to the sides of mattresses 
and they can be handled much easier. 


A Carpenter’s Gauge 

The home workshop can be supplied 
with a carpenter’s gauge without any 
expense by the use of a large spool and 



Round Stick in a Spool 


a round stick of wood. The stick 
should be dressed to fit the hole in the 
spool snugly and a small brad driven 
through one end so that the point will 
protrude about in. 

The adjustment of the gauge is se¬ 
cured by driving the stick in the hole 
in the direction desired. A better way 
and one that will make the adjusting 
easy is to file the point end of a screw- 
eye fiat and use it as a set screw 
through a hole in the side of the spool. 


A Flatiron Rest 

The iron rest and wall hanger shown 
in the sketch is made of sheet iron. 
The upturned edges of the metal are 


Board or Wall Iron Rest 

bent to fit the sloping sides of the iron. 
The holder and iron can be moved at 
the same time.—Contributed by W. A. 
Jaquythe, Richmond, Cal. 


Use for Paper Bags 

When groceries are delivered, save 
the paper bags and use them for stor¬ 
ing bread and cakes. Tie the neck of 
the bag with a string and it will keep 
the contents fresh and clean.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Mrs. L. H. Atwell, Kissimmee, 
Florida. 


Of a little chalk is rubbed on a file be¬ 
fore filing steel, it will keep the chips 
from sticking in the cuts on the file and 
scratching the work. 



















20 


A Homemade Steam Turbine 

By WILLIAM H. WARNECKE 


Procure some brass, about in. thick 
and 4 in. square; 53 steel pens, not 
over % in. in width at the shank; two 
enameled, or tin, saucers or pans, hav¬ 
ing a diameter on the inside part of 
about 4% in-; two stopcocks with %- 
in. holes; one shaft; some pieces of 


about 1 in. in diameter and in. thick, 
with a ’%-in. hole in the center, for 
filling pieces which are first placed 
around the shaft hole between the disk 
an*d side plates C, Fig. 1. The side 
plates are then secured with some of 
the %-in. machine -screws, using two 



brass, % in. thick, and several %-in. 
machine screws. 

Lay out two circles on the -ft-in. 
brass, one having a diameter of 3% in. 
and the other with a diameter of 2% 
in. The outside circle is the size of 
the finished brass wheel, while the in¬ 
side circle indicates the depth to 
which the slots are to be cut. M£rk 
the point where a hole is to be drilled 
for the shaft, also locate the drill holes, 
as shown at A, Fig. 1. After the shaft 
hole and the holes A are drilled in the 
disk, it can be used as h template for 
drilling the side plates C. 

The rim of the disk is divided into 
53 equal parts and radial lines drawn 
from rim to line B, indicating the depth 
of the slots. Slots are cut in the disk 
with a hacksaw on the radial lines. A 
small vise is convenient for holding the 
disk while cutting the slots. 

When cutting the disk out of the 
rough brass, sufficient margin should 
be left for filing to the true line. The 
slots should be left in their rough state 
as they have a better hold on the pens 
which are used for the blades. The 
pens are inserted in the slots and made 
quite secure by forcing ordinary pins 
on the inside of the pens and breaking 
them off at the rim, as shown in Fig. 4. 

When the pens are all fastened two 
pieces of meta? are provided, each 


nuts on each screw. The nuts should 
be on the side opposite the inlet valves. 
The shaft hole may also be filed 
square, a square shaft used, and the 
ends filed round for the bearings. 

The casing for the disk is made of 
two enameled-iron saucers, Fig. 2, 
bolted together with a thin piece of 
asbestos between them to make a tight 
joint. A %-in. hole is cut near the 
edge of one of the saucers for the ex¬ 
haust. If it is desired to carry the ex¬ 
haust beyond the casing, a thin pipe 
can be inserted % in. into the hole. 
Holes are drilled through the pipe on 
both inside and outside of the casing, 
and pins inserted, as shown in Fig. 5. 
Solder is run around the outside pin 
to keep the steam from escaping. At 
the lowest point of the saucer or cas¬ 
ing a %-in. hole is drilled to run off 
the water. A wood plug will answer 
for a stopcock. 

If metal dishes, shaped from thick 
material with a good coating of tin, 
can be procured, it will be much easier 
to construct the casing than if enam¬ 
eled ware is used. The holes can be 
easily drilled and the parts fitted to¬ 
gether closely. All seams and sur¬ 
faces around fittings can be soldered. 

Nozzles are made of two stopcocks 
having a %-in. hole. These are con¬ 
nected to a %-in. supply pipe. The 






































21 


nozzles should be set at an angle of 20 
deg. with the face of the disk. The 
nozzle or stopcock will give better re¬ 
sults if the discharge end is filed par¬ 
allel to the face of the disk when at an 
angle of 20 deg. There should be a 
space of iV in. between the nozzle and 
the blades to allow for sufficient play, 
Fig. 3. 

The bearings are made of %-in. brass 
and bolted to the casing, as shown, 
with %-in. machine screws and nuts. 
Two nuts should be placed on each 
screw. The pulley is made by sliding 
a piece of steel pipe on the engine shaft 
and fastening it with machine screws 


and nuts as shown in Fig. 6. If the 
shaft is square, lead should be run into 
the segments. 

The driven shaft should have a long 
bearing. The pulley on this shaft is 
made of pieces of wood nailed to¬ 
gether, and its circumference cut out 
with a scroll saw. Flanges are screwed 
to the pulley and fastened to the shaft 
as shown in Fig. 7. 

The bearings are made of oak blocks 
lined with heavy tin or sheet iron for 
the running surface. Motion is trans¬ 
mitted from the engine to the large 
pulley by a thin but very good leather 
belt. 


Homemade Telegraph Key 


A simple and easily constructed 
telegraph key may be made in the fol¬ 
lowing manner: Procure a piece of 
sheet brass, about W 2 in. thick, and cut 
out a strip 3% in. long by % in. wide. 
Bend as shown in Fig. 1 and drill a 
hole for the knob in one end and a 
hole for a screw in the other. Procure 
a small wood knob and fasten it in 
place with a small screw. Cut a strip 
of the same brass 2% in. long and 
in. wide and bend as shown in Fig. 2. 
Drill two holes in the feet for screws 
to fasten it to the base, and one hole 
in the top part for a machine screw, 
and solder a small nut on the under 
side of the metal over the hole. 

Mount both pieces on a base 4% 
by 2% by % in., as in Fig. 3, and where 




the screw of the knob strikes the base 
when pressed down, put in a screw or 
brass-headed tack for a contact. 


Fasten the parts down with small 
brass wood-screws and solder the con¬ 
nections beneath the base. Binding- 
posts from an old battery cell are used 
on the end of the base. The screw on 
top of the arch is used to adjust the 
key for a long or short stroke.—Con¬ 
tributed by S. V. Cooke, Hamilton, 
Canada. 


Keeping Food Cool in Camps 

Camps and suburban homes located 
where ice is hard to get can be pro¬ 
vided with a cooling arrangement here¬ 
in described that will make a good 
substitute for the icebox. A barrel is 
sunk in the ground in a shady place, 
allowing plenty of space about the out¬ 
side to fill in with gravel. A quantity 
of small stones and sand is first put in 
wet. A box is placed in the hole over 
the top of the barrel and filled in with 
clay or earth well tamped. The porous 
condition of the gravel drains the sur¬ 
plus water after a rain. 

The end of the barrel is fitted with a 
light cover and a heavy door hinged to 
the box. A small portion of damp sand 
is sprinkled on the bottom of the barrel. 
The covers should be left open occa¬ 
sionally to prevent mold and to remove 
any bad air that may have collected 
from the contents.—Contributed by F. 
Smith, La Salle, Ill. 







22 


Homemade Work Basket 

Secure a cheese box about 12 in. high 
and 15 in. or more in diameter. It will 
pay you to be careful in selecting this 
box. Be sure to have the cover. Score 
the wood deeply with a carpenter’s 
gauge inside and out 3% in. from the 
top of the box. With repeated scoring 
the wood will be almost cut through or 
in shape to finish the cut with a knife. 
Now you will have the box in two 
pieces. The lower part, 8% in. deep 
over all, we will call the basket, and 
the smaller part will be known as the 
tray. 

Remove the band from the cover and 
cut the boards to fit in the tray flush 
with the lower 
edge, to make 
the bottom. 
Fasten with 
%-in brads. The 
kind of wood 
used in making 
these boxes 
cracks easily and 
leaves a rough 
surface which 
should be well 
sandpapered. 

The four legs 
are each % in. 
square and 30% 
in. long. The 
tops should be beveled to keep them 
from splintering at the edges. With a 
string or tape measure, find the cir¬ 
cumference of the tray or basket and 
divide this into four equal parts, ar¬ 
ranging the lap seam on both to come 
midway between two of the marks. 
When assembling, make these seams 
come between the two back legs. 

The tray is placed 1% in. from the top 
end and the basket 6% in. from the 
bottom end of the legs. Notch the legs 
at the lower point about % in. deep and 
1% in. wide to receive the band at the 
lower end of the basket. Fasten with 
%-in. screws, using four to each leg, 
three of which are in the basket. In¬ 
sert the screws from the inside of the 
box into the legs. 

Stain the wood before putting in the 


lining. If all the parts are well sand¬ 
papered, the wood will take the stain 
nicely. Three yards of cretonne will 
make a very attractive lining. Cut two 
sheets of cardboard to fit in the bottom 
of the tray and basket. Cover them 
with the cretonne, sewing on the back 
side. Cut four strips for the sides from 
the width of the goods 5% in. wide and 
four strips 10 in. wide. Sew them end 
to end and turn down one edge to a 
depth of 1 in. and gather it at that 
point,—also the lower edge when nec¬ 
essary. Sew on to the covered card¬ 
boards. Fasten them to the sides of 
the tray and basket with the smallest 
upholsterers’ tacks. The product of 
your labor will be a very neat and use¬ 
ful piece of furniture.—Contributed by 
Stanley H. Packard, Boston, Mass. 


A Window Display 

A novel and attractive aeroplane 
window display can be easily made in 
the following manner: Each aero¬ 
plane is cut from folded paper, as 
shown in the sketch, and the wings 
bent out on the dotted lines. The 
folded part in the center is pasted to¬ 
gether. Each aeroplane is fastened 
with a small thread from the point A 
as shown. A figure of an airman can 
be pasted to each aeroplane. One or 
more of the aeroplanes can be fastened 
in the blast of an electric fan and 
kept in flight the same as a kite. The 
fan can be concealed to make the dis¬ 
play more real. When making the 
display, have the background of such 



a color as to conceal the small threads 
holding the aeroplanes.—Contributed 
by Frederick Hennighausen, Balti¬ 
more, Md. 






















23 


How to Make a Flint Arrowhead 

If you live where flints abound, pos¬ 
sess the requisite patience and the 
knack of making things, you can, with 
the crudest of tools and a little prac¬ 
tice, chip out as good arrowheads as 
any painted savage that ever drew a 
bow. 

Select a piece of straight-grained 
flint as near the desired shape as pos¬ 
sible. It may be both longer and 
wider than the finished arrow but it 
should not be any thicker. The side, 
edge and end views of a suitable frag¬ 
ment are shown in Fig. 1. Hold the 
piece with one edge or end resting on 
a block of wood and strike the upper 
edge lightly with a hammer, a small 
boulder or anything that comes handy 
until the piece assumes the shape 
shown in Fig. 2. 



Fig.I 


Fig.2 Fig.3 

The Stone Chipped into Shape 

The characteristic notches shown in 
the completed arrow, Fig. 3, are 
chipped out by striking the piece 
lightly at the required points with the 
edge of an old hatchet or a heavy 
flint held at right angles to the edge 
of the arrow. These heads can be 
made so that they cannot be distin¬ 
guished from the real Indian arrow¬ 
heads.—Contributed by B. Orlando 
Taylor, Cross Timbers, Mo. 


An Opening Handle for a Stamp Pad 

A stamp pad is a desk necessity and 
the cleanliness of one depends on keep¬ 
ing it closed when it is not in use. The 
opening and closing of a pad requires 
both hands and consequently the clos¬ 
ing of a pad is often neglected in order 
to avoid soiling the fingers. This 
trouble can be avoided if the pad is 


fitted with a small handle as shown in 
the sketch. Take the ordinary pad and 
work the hinge until it opens freely. 



If necessary apply a little oil and 
spread the flanges of the cover slightly. 

Saw off the top of a common wood 
clothespin just above the slot, saving 
all the solid part. Fasten this to the 
cover near the back side in an upright 
position with a screw. A tap on the 
front side of the pin will turn it over 
backward until the head rests on the 
desk thus bringing the cover up in the 
upright position. When through using 
the pad, a slight tap on the back side of 
the cover will turn it down in places 
Contributed by H. L. Crockett, Glov- 
ersville, N. Y. 


Concrete Kennel 

The kennel shown in the illustra¬ 
tion is large enough for the usual size 
of dog. It is cleanly, healthful and 
more ornamental than the average ken¬ 



nel. This mission style would be in 
keeping with the now popular mission 
and semi-mission style home, and, with 























24 


slight modifications, it could be made 
to conform with the ever beautiful 
colonial home. It is not difficult to 



build and will keep in good shape for 
many years. 

The dimensions and the manner of 
making the forms for the concrete, and 
the location for the bolts to hold the 
plate and rafters, are shown in the dia¬ 
gram.—Contributed by Edith E. Lane, 
El Paso, Texas. 


Nutshell Photograph Novelty 

Split an English walnut in the cen¬ 
ter, remove the contents, and scrape 
out the rough parts. Make an oval 



opening by filing or grinding. If a file 
is used, it should be new and sharp. 


After this is done, take a small half- 
round file and smooth the edges into 
shape and good form. 

The photograph print should be 
quite small—less than % in. across the 
face. Trim the print to a size a little 
larger than the opening in the shell, 
and secure it in place with glue or 
paste. It may be well to fill the shell 
with cotton. Mount the shell on a 
small card with glue, or if desired, a 
mount of different shape can be made 
of burnt woodwork.—Contributed by 
C. S. Bourne, Lowell, Mass. 


Spoonholder on a Kettle 

In making marmalade and jellies the 
ingredients must be stirred from time 
to time as the cooking proceeds. After 
stirring, 
some of t h e 
mixture 
always re¬ 
mains on the 
spoon. Cooks 
often lay the 
spoon on a 
plate or 
stand it 
against the 
cooking utensil with the handle down. 
Both of these methods are wasteful. 
The accompanying illustration shows 
a device made of sheet copper to hold 
the spoon so that the drippings will 
return to the cooking utensil. The 
copper is not hard to bend and it can 
be shaped so that the device can be 
used on any pot or kettle.—Contributed 
by Edwin Marshall, Oak Park, Ill. 


Repairing Cracked Gramophone 
Records 

Some time ago I received two 
gramophone records that were cracked 
in shipment but the parts were held 
together with the paper label. As 
these were single-faced disk records, 
I used the following method to stick 
them together: I covered the back of 
one with shellac and laid the two back 
to back centering the holes with the 
crack in one running at right angles 








































. 25 


to the crack in the other. These were 
placed on a flat surface and a weight 
set on them. After several hours’ dry¬ 
ing, I cleaned the surplus shellac out 
of the holes and played them. 

As the needle passed over the cracks 
the noise was hardly audible. These 
records have been played for a year and 
they sound almost as good as new.— 
Contributed by Marion P. Wheeler, 
Greenleaf, Oregon. 


New Use for a Vacuum Cleaner 

An amateur mechanic who had been 
much annoyed by the insects which 
were attracted to his electric lights 
found a solution in the pneumatic moth- 
trap described in a recent issue of 
Popular Mechanics. He fixed a funnel 
to the end of the intake tube of a 
vacuum cleaner and hung it under a 
globe. The insects came to the light, 
circled over the funnel and disap¬ 
peared. He captured several pounds in 
a few hours.—Contributed by Geo. F. 
Turl, Canton, Ill. 


Filtering with a Small Funnel 

In filtering a large amount of solu¬ 
tion one usually desires some means 
other than a large funnel and some¬ 
thing to make the watching . of the 
process unnecessary. If a considerable 
quantity of a solution be placed in a 
large bottle or flask, and a cork with a 
small hole in it inserted in the mouth, 
and the apparatus suspended in an in¬ 
verted position over a small funnel so 
that the opening of the cork is just be¬ 
low the water level in the funnel, the 
filtering process goes on continuously 
with no overflow of the funnel. 

As soon as the solution in the funnel 
is below the cork, air is let into the 
flask and a small quantity of new solu¬ 
tion is let down into the funnel. The 
process works well and needs no 
watching, and instead of the. filtrate 
being in a large filter paper, it is on 
one small piece and can be handled 
with ease.—Contributed by Loren 
Ward, Des Moines, Iowa. 


A Postcard Rack 

The illustration shows a neat rack 
for postcards. Those having homes 



Finished Rack 


with mission-style furniture can make 
such a rack of the same material as the 
desk, table or room furnishings and 
finish it in the same manner. 

The dimensions are given in the de¬ 
tail sketch. The two ends are cut from 
14 -in. material, the bottom being % 
in. thick. Oniy three pieces are re¬ 
quired, and as they are simple in de¬ 
sign, anyone can cut them out with a 


r 

e" 

: —^ 

^ 1 

1 " ^ 

* 

C 



* J 1 

* l ! 



COICO 

r 

_ 

mioo 1 


Details of the Rack 


saw, plane and pocket knife.—Con¬ 
tributed by Wm. Rosenberg, Wor¬ 
cester, Mass. 


Substitute Shoe Horn 

A good substitute for a. shoe horn is 
a handkerchief or any piece of cloth 
used in the following way: Allow part 
of the handkerchief or cloth to enter 
the shoe, place the toe of the foot in 
the shoe so as to hold down the cloth, 
and by pulling up on the cloth so as to 
keep it taut around the heel the foot 
will slide into the shoe just as easily 
as if a shoe horn were used.—Contri¬ 
buted by Thomas L. Dobbins, Glen- 
brook, Conn. 


























26 


Building a Small Photographic Dark Room 


In building a photographic dark 
room, it is necessary to make it per¬ 
fectly light-tight, the best material to 
use being matched boards. These 
bpards are tongued and grooved and 
when put together effectually prevent 
the entrance of light. 

The next important thing to be con¬ 
sidered is to make it weather-tight, and 
as far as the sides are concerned the 
matched boards will do this also, but 
it is necessary to cover the roof with 
felt or water-proof paper. 

The best thickness for the boards is 

1 in., but for cheapness % in. will do 
as well, yet the saving is so little that 
the 1-in. boards are preferable. 

The dark room shown in the accom¬ 
panying sketch measures 3 ft. 6 in. by 

2 ft. 6 in., the height to the eaves being 
6 ft. Form the two sides shown in Fig 
1, fixing the crosspieces which hold the 
boards together in such positions that 
the bottom one will act as a bearer for 
the floor, and the second one for the 
developing bench. Both sides can be 
put together in this way, and both 
exactly alike. Keep the ends of the 
crosspieces back from the edges of the 
boards far enough to allow the end 
boards to fit in against them. 

One of the narrow sides can be 
formed in the same way, fixing the 
crosspieces on to correspond, and then 
these three pieces can be fastened to¬ 
gether by screwing the two wide sides 
on the narrow one. 

Lay the floor next, screwing or nail¬ 
ing the boards to the crosspieces, and 
making the last board come even with 
the ends of the crosspieces, not even 
with the boards themselves. The single 
boards can then be fixed, one on each 
side of what will be the doorway, by 
screwing to the floor, and to the out¬ 
side board of the sides. At the top of 
the doorway, fix a narrow piece be¬ 
tween the side boards, thus leaving a 
rectangular opening for the door. 

The roof boards may next be put on, 
nailing the to each other at the ridge, 
and to the sides of the room at the 


outsides and eaves. They should over¬ 
hang at the sides and eaves about 2 
in., as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. 

One of the sides with the crosspieces 
in place will be as shown in Fig. 2 in 
section, all the crosspieces and bearers 
intersecting around the room. 

The door is made of the same kind 
of boards held together with cross¬ 
pieces, one of which is fastened so as 
to fit closely to the floor when the door 
is hinged, and act as a trap for the 
light. The top crosspiece is also fast¬ 
ened within 1 in. of the top of the door 
for the same reason. 

Light traps are necessary at the sides 
and top of the door. That at the hinged 
side can be as shown at A, Fig. 5, the 
closing side as at B, and the top as at 
C in the same drawing. These are all 
in section and are self-explanatory. In 
hinging the door, three butt hinges 
should be used so as to keep the joint 
close. 

The fittings of the room are as shown 
sectionally in Fig. 6 , but before fixing 
these it is best to line the room with 
heavy, brown wrapping paper, as an 
additional safeguard against the en¬ 
trance of light. 

The developing bench is 18 in. wide, 
and in the middle an opening, 9 by 11 
in., is cut, below which is fixed the sink. 
It is shown in detail in Fig. 7, and 
should be zinc lined. 

The zinc should not be cut but folded 
as shown in Fig. 8 , so that it will fit 
inside the sink. The bench at each side 
of the sink should be fluted (Fig. 9), 
so that the water will drain off into the 
sink. A strip should be fixed along 
the back of the bench as shown in Figs. 
6 and 9, and an arrangement of slats 
(Fig. 10), hinged to it, so as to drop 
on the sink as in Fig. 6 , and shown to 
a larger scale in Fig. 11 . 

A shelf for bottles and another for 
plates, etc., can be fixed above the de¬ 
veloping bench as at D and E (Fig. 6 ) 
and another as F in the same drawing. 
This latter forms the bottom of the 
tray rack, which is fixed on as shown 

























































































































































































































































































































































28 


in Fig. 13. The divisions of the tray 
rack are best fitted loosely in grooves 
formed by fixing strips to the shelves 
and under the bench and sink as in 
Fig. 13. 

Extra bearing pieces will be wanted 
for the shelves mentioned above, these 
being shown in Fig. 14. The window 
is formed by cutting an opening in the 
side opposite the door, and fixing in it 
a square of white glass with strips of 
wood on the inside and putty on the 
outside, as in Fig. 15. A ruby glass is 
framed as shown at G, Fig. 16, and 
arranged to slide to and fro in the 
grooved runners H, which makes it 
possible to have white light, as at I, 
or red light as at K, Fig. 16. The 
white glass with runners in position is 
shown at L in the same drawing, but 
not the red glass and frame. Ventila¬ 
tion is arranged for by boring a series 
of holes near the floor, as at M, Fig. 
6, and near the roof as at N in the same 
drawing, and trapping the light with¬ 
out stopping the passage of air, as 
shown in the sections, Fig. 17. 

The finish of the roof at the gables is 


shown in Fig. 18, the strip under the 
boards holding the felt in position when 
folded under, and the same is true of 
the roll at the top of the roof in Fig. 19. 

The house will be much strengthened 
if strips, as shown in Fig. 20, are fast¬ 
ened in the corners inside, after lin¬ 
ing with brown paper, screwing them 
each way into the boards. 

The door may have a latch or lock 
with a knob, but should in addition 
have two buttons on the inside, fixed 
so as to pull it shut tightly at top and 
bottom. A waste pipe should be at¬ 
tached to the sink and arranged to 
discharge through the floor. A cistern 
with pipe and tap can be fastened in 
the top of the dark room, if desired, or 
the room may be made with a flat roof, 
and a tank stand on it, though this is 
hardly advisable. 

It is absolutely necessary that the 
room be well painted, four coats at first 
is not too many, and one coat twice a 
year will keep it in good condition. 

A brick foundation should be laid so 
that no part of the room touches the 
ground. 


The Versatile Querl 

“Querl” is the German name for a 
kitchen utensil which may be used as 
an egg-beater, potato-masher or a 
lemon-squeezer. For beating up an 
egg in a glass, mixing flour and water, 
or stirring cocoa or chocolate, it is bet¬ 
ter than anything on the market. 




This utensil is made of hardwood, 
preferably maple or ash. A circular 


piece about 2 in. in diameter is cut from 
y<2r in. stock and shaped like a star as 
shown in Fig. 1, and a %-in. hole bored 
in the center for a handle. The handle 
should be at least 12 in. in length and 
fastened in the star as shown in Fig. 2. 

In use, the star is placed in the dish 
containing the material to be beaten or 
mixed and the handle is rapidly rolled 
between the palms of the hands.—Con¬ 
tributed by W. Karl Hilbrich, Erie, 
Pennsylvania. 


An Emergency Soldering Tool 

Occasionally one finds a piece of 
soldering to do which is impossible to 
reach with even the smallest of the or¬ 
dinary soldering irons or coppers. If 
a length of copper wire, as large as 
the job will permit and sufficiently long 
to admit being bent at one end to 
form a rough handle, and filed or 
dressed to a point on the other, is 
heated and tinned exactly as a regular 














29 


copper should be, the work will cause 
no trouble on account of inaccessibil¬ 
ity.—Contributed by E. G. Smith, 
Eureka Springs, Ark. 


Smoothing Paper after Erasing 

When an ink line is erased the rough¬ 
ened surface of the paper should be 
smoothed or polished so as to prevent 
the succeeding lines of ink from spread¬ 
ing. A convenient desk accessory for 
this purpose can be made of a short 

p) 

Collar Button Ends in Wood Stick 

piece of hardwood and two bone collar 
buttons. 

File off the head of one button at A 
and the base from another at B. Bore 
a small hole D and E in each end of 
the wood handle C and fasten the but¬ 
ton parts in the holes with glue or seal¬ 
ing wax. The handle can be left the 
shape shown or tapered as desired. 
The small end is used for smoothing 
small erasures and the other end for 
larger surfaces. 


A Cherry Seeder 

An ordinary hairpin is driven part 
way into a small round piece of wood, 
about % in. in diameter and 2 or 2% 
in. long, for a handle, as shown in the 
sketch. The hairpin should be a very 




AL 


QiT.TT’A’-^T 

>Y B 0 



Hairpin in Stick 


small size. To operate, simply insert 
the wire loop into the cherry where 
the stem has been pulled off and lift 
out the seed.—Contributed by L. L. 
Schweiger, Kansas City, Mo. 


A Dovetail Joint 

The illustration shows an unusual 
dovetail joint, which, when put to¬ 
gether properly is a puzzle. The tenon 
or tongue of the joint is sloping on 


three surfaces and the mortise is cut 
sloping to match. The bottom surface 
of the mortise is the same width at 



both ends, the top being tapering to¬ 
ward the base of the tongue.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Wm. D. Mitchell, Yonkers, 
New York. 


Base for Round-End Bottles 

The many forms of round-bottomed 
glass bottles used in chemical labora¬ 
tories require some special kind of sup¬ 
port on which they can be safely placed 
from time to time when the chemist 



does not, for the moment, need them. 
These supports should not be made of 
any hard material nor should they be 
good conductors of heat, as such quali¬ 
ties would result in frequent breakage. 

A French magazine suggests mak¬ 
ing the supports from the large corks 
of glass jars in which crystal chemicals 
are usually supplied from the dealers. 
The manner of making them is clearly 
shown in the sketch. Each cork is cut 
as in Fig. 1 and placed on a wire ring 
(Fig. 2) whose ends are twisted to¬ 
gether and the last section of cork is 
cut through from the inner side to the 
center and thus fitted over the wire 
covering the twisted ends, which binds 
them together. The corks in use are 
shown in Fig. 3. 


X 


























30 


Rustic Window Boxes 

Instead of using an ordinary green- 
painted window box, why not make an 
artistic one in which the color does not 
clash with the plants contained in it 
but rather harmonizes 
with them. 

Such a window box 
can be made by anyone 
having usual mechanical 
ability, and will furnish 
more opportunities for 
artistic and original de¬ 
sign than many other 
articles of more compli¬ 
cated construction. 

The box proper should 
be made a little shorter 
than the length of the 
window to allow for the 
extra space taken up in 
trimming and should be 
nearly equal in width to 
the sill, as shown in 
Fig. 1. If the sill is in¬ 
clined, as is usually the 
case, the box will require 
a greater height in front, to make it 
set level, as shown in Fig. 2. 

The box should be well nailed or 
screwed together and should then be 
painted all over to make it more dura¬ 
ble. A number of %-in. holes should 
be drilled in the bottom, to allow the 
excess water to run out and thus pre¬ 
vent rotting of the plants and box. 

Having completed the bare box, it 
may be trimmed to suit the fancy of the 
maker. The design shown in Fig. 1 is 
very simple and easy to construct, but 
may be replaced with a panel or other 
design. One form of panel design is 
shown in Fig. 3. 

Trimming having too rough a sur¬ 
face will be found unsuitable for this 
work as it is difficult to fasten and 
cannot be split as well as smooth trim¬ 
ming. It should be cut the proper 
length before being split and should 
be fastened with brads. The half- 
round hoops of barrels will be found 
very useful in trimming, especially for 
filling-in purposes, and by using them 


the operation of splitting is avoided. 
After the box is trimmed, the rustic 
work should be varnished, in order to 
thoroughly preserve it, as well as im¬ 
prove its appearance. 


Antidote for Squirrel Pest 

To the owner of a garden in a town 
where squirrels are protected by law, 
life in the summer time is a vexation. 
First the squirrels dig up the sweet 
corn and two or three replantings are 
necessary. When the corn is within 
two or three days of being suitable for 
cooking, the squirrels come in droves 
from far and near. They eat all they 
can and carry away the rest. When 
the corn is gone cucumbers, cabbages, 
etc., share the same fate, being partly 
eaten into. At the risk of being ar¬ 
rested for killing the squirrels I have 
used a small target rifle morning and 
night, but during my absence the dev- 
astation went on steadily. Last year 
they destroyed my entire corn crop. 
Traps do no good; can’t use poison, 
too dangerous. But I have solved the 
difficulty; it’s easy. 

Shake cayenne pepper over the va¬ 
rious vegetables which are being 
ruined, and observe results. 



Artistic Flower Boxes 
























31 


Homemade Electric Stove 

By J. F. THOLL 


The construction of an electric stove 
is very simple, and it can be made by 
any home mechanic having a vise and 
hand drill. The body is made of sheet 
or galvanized iron, cut out and drilled 
as shown in Fig. 1. 

Each long projection represents a 
leg, which is bent at right angles on the 
center line by placing the metal in the 
jaws of a vise and hammering the 
metal over flat. If just the rim is 
gripped in the vise, it will give a round¬ 
ing form to the lower part of the legs. 
The small projections are bent in to 
form a support for the bottom. 

The bottom consists of a square 
piece of metal, as shown in Fig. 2. 
Holes are drilled near the edges for 
stove bolts to fasten it to the bottom 
projections. Two of the larger holes 
are used for the ends of the coiled rod 
and the other two for the heating-wire 
terminals. The latter holes should be 
well insulated with porcelain or mica. 
The top consists of a square piece of 
metal drilled as shown in Fig. 3. Four 
small ears are turned down to hold the 
top in place. 

One end of the coiled rod is shown 
in Fig. 4. This illustrates how two 
pins are inserted in holes, drilled at 
right angles, to hold the coil on the 
bottom plate. The coiled rod is T 3 ¥ in. 


can be purchased from electrical stores. 
Stovepipe wire will answer the pur¬ 
pose when regular heating wire cannot 
be obtained. The wire is coiled around 
the asbestos-covered rod, so that no 
coil will be in contact with another 
coil. If, by trial, the coil does not heat 
sufficiently, cut some of it off and try 
again. About 9 y 2 ft. of No. 26 gauge 
heating wire will be about right. The 
connection to an electric-lamp socket 
is made with ordinary flexible cord, to 
which is attached a screw plug for mak¬ 
ing connections. 


Glass-Cleaning Solution 

Glass tumblers, tubing and fancy 
bottles are hard to clean by washing 
them in the ordinary way, as the parts 
are hard to reach with the fingers or a 
brush. The following solution makes 
an excellent cleaner that will remove 
dirt and grease from crevices and sharp 
corners. To 9 parts of water add 1 
part of strong sulphuric acid. The 
acid should be added to the water 
slowly and not the water to the acid. 
Add as much bichromate of potash as 
the solution will dissolve. More 
bichromate of potash should be added 
as the precipitate is used in cleaning. 

The chemicals can be purchased 



Pattern for Parts of the Electric Stove 


in diameter and 27 in. long. The rod js 
wrapped with sheet asbestos, cut in 
%-in. strips. 

The length of the heating wire must 
be determined by a test. This wire 


cheaply from a local drug store, and 
made up and kept in large bottles. 
The solution can be used over and 
over again. — Contributed by Loren 
Ward, Des Moines, Iowa. 































32 


Automatic-Closing Kennel Door 

When the neighborhood cats are re¬ 
tired for the night and there is noth¬ 
ing more to chase, my fox terrier 
seems to realize that his usefulness 



for the day is over and begs to be put 
in his kennel that he may not bark 
at the moon as some dogs are apt to 
do. This necessitates my putting him 
out at a time when it may not be 
convenient. Frequently in stormy 
weather this is a disagreeable duty 
and I found a way to obviate it by 
making a trapdoor device for his ken¬ 
nel as shown in the sketch whereby 
he may lock himself in when he 
crosses the threshold. 

The outer half A of the hinged trap¬ 
door is made heavier than the inner 
half B by a cleat, C, and a strip, D, to 
cause the door to swing shut. The 
tripper stick E is set between cleats 
C and F to hold the door open. When 
the dog steps on the inner half of the 
trapdoor B, it falls to stop G, releasing 
tripper stick E (which is heavier on 
the top end H) to cause it to fall clear 
of the path of the trapdoor. The door 
then swings shut in the direction of the 
arrow, the latch I engaging a slot in 
the door as it closes, and the dog has 
locked himself in for the night. The 
latch I is made of an old-fashioned 
gate latch which is mortised in the 
bottom joist of the kennel. When re¬ 
leasing the dog in the morning the 
door is set for the evening.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Victor Labadie, Dallas, Texas. 


Polishing Cloths for Silver 

Mix 2 lb. of whiting and % oz. of 
oleic acid with 1 gal. of gasoline. Stir 
and mix thoroughly. Soak pieces of 
gray outing flannel of the desired size 
—15 by 12 in. is a good size—in this 
compound. Wring the surplus fluid 
out and hang them up to dry, being 
careful to keep them away from the 
fire or an open flame. These cloths 
will speedily clean silver or plated ware 
and will not soil the hands. 

In cleaning silver, it is best to wash 
it first in hot water and white soap 
and then use the polishing cloths. The 
cloths can be used until they are worn 
to shreds. Do not wash them. Knives, 
forks, spoons and other small pieces of 
silver will keep bright and free from 
tarnish if they are slipped into cases 
made from the gray outing flannel and 
treated with the compound. 

Separate bags for such pieces as the 
teapot, coffee pot, hot-water pot, cake 
basket and other large pieces of silver¬ 
ware will keep them bright and shin¬ 
ing.—Contributed by Katharine D. 
Morse, Syracuse^ N. Y. 


A Book-Holder 

Books having a flexible back are dif¬ 
ficult to hold in an upright position 
when copying from them. A make¬ 
shift combination of paperweights and 
other books is often used, but with 
unsatisfactory results. 



Fig.2 

Box Corner Makes a Book Holder 


The book-holder shown in the sketch 
will hold such books securely, allow 
















33 


the pages to be turned easily and con- 
ceal the smallest possible portion of 
each page. 

The holder can be cut out of a box 
corner and fitted with two screweyes, 
which have the part shown by the 
dotted lines at A (Fig. 1) removed. 
The length of the back board deter¬ 
mines the slope for the book rest.— 
Contributed by James M. Kane, 
Doylestown, Pa. 


Clamping a Cork 

It is aggravating to continually 
break the cork of the stock mucilage 
bottle because of 
its sticking to the 
neck of the bottle 
after a supply has 
been poured out. If 
a stove bolt is in¬ 
serted lengthwise 
through the cork 
with a washer on 
each end and the 
nut screwed u p 
tightly, as shown in 
the sketch, the cork 
may be made to last longer than the 
supply of mucilage and can be placed 
in a new bottle and used over and over 
again.' 



Withdrawing Paper from under an 
Inverted Bottle 

Invert a bottle on a piece of paper 
near the edge of a table top and ask 
any one to remove the paper without 
overturning the bottle. They will at 
once jerk the paper with the result 
that the bottle will turn over. To re¬ 
move the paper just strike the table 
top with your right fist while pulling 
the paper slowly with your left hand. 
As you strike the table the bottle will 
jump and release the paper.—Contri¬ 
buted by Maurice Baudier, New Or¬ 
leans, La. 


CA bone collar button makes a good 
substitute for a plug in repairing a 
puncture in a single-tube bicycle tire. 


Broom Holder Made of a Hinge 

The broom holder shown in the 
sketch is made of an ordinary hinge 
with one wing 
screwed to the 
wall. The loose 
wing has a large 
hole drilled 
in it to receive 
the handle 
of the broom. 

The manner of 
holding the 
broom is plainly 
shown in the 
sketch. — Con¬ 
tributed by Theodore 
Waverly, Ill. 



L. Fisher, 


Making Proofs before the Negative 
Dries 

A correspondent of Camera Craft 
makes proofs from his developed, but 
unfixed, negatives, by squeezing a 
sheet of wet bromide paper into con¬ 
tact with the wet film and giving an 
exposure several times longer than 
would be required under ordinary con¬ 
ditions, using the paper dry. If the 
developer is well rinsed out of the film, 
the exposure to artificial light neces¬ 
sary to make a print will have no in¬ 
jurious effect upon the negative, which 
is, of course, later fixed and washed as 
usual. 


Flower-Pot Stand 

A very useful stand for flower pots 
can be made of a piece of board sup¬ 
ported by four 
clothes hooks. 

The top may be 
of any size suit¬ 
able for the 
flowerpot. The 
hooks which 
serve as legs 
are fastened to 
the under .side of the board in the same 
manner as fastening the hook to a wall. 
—Contributed by Oliver S. Sprout, 
Harrisburg, Pa. 




















34 


A Line Harmonograph 



As an apparatus capable of exciting 
interest, probably nothing so easily 
constructed surpasses the harmono¬ 
graph. Your 
atte n t i o n 
will be com¬ 
pletely ab¬ 
sorbed in the 
ever chang¬ 
ing, graceful 
sweep of the 
long pendulum, the gyrations of which 
are faithfully recorded in the resulting 
harmonogram. 

A careless impetus given to the 
pendulum may result in a very beau¬ 
tiful harmonogram, but you may try 
innumerable times to duplicate this 
chance record without success. No 
two harmonograms are exactly alike. 
The harmonograph, while its pendu¬ 
lum swings in accordance with well 
known natural laws, is exceedingly 
erratic when it comes to obeying any 
preconceived calculations of its oper¬ 
ator. In this uncertainty lies the 
charm. If time hangs heavily or a 
person is slightly nervous or uneasy, 
a harmonograph is a good prescrip¬ 
tion. 



The prime 
essential in a 
well work¬ 
ing harmon¬ 
ograph is a 
properly 
construct e d 
u n i v e r sal 
joint. Where 
such a joint 
is made with 
pivots for 
its bearings, 
one pair of 
pivots are 
very liable 
to have more 
friction than 
the other, 
which re¬ 
tards the 
move ment 


and causes the harmonograph to un¬ 
dergo a continuous change of axis. To 
obviate this difficulty, the joint should 
be made similar to those used on scales. 
The general appearance of such a joint 
is shown in the first illustration, Fig. 1. 
Stirrups A and B are made of % by 
%-in. metal. Holes are drilled in each 
end of these stirrups and filed out as 
shown at C. The two holes shown in 
the center of the stirrup A are drilled 
to fasten the apparatus to the ceiling. 
Two corresponding holes are drilled in 
B to fasten the long pendulum F to the 
joint. The cross of the joint D has the 
ends shaped as shown at E. The 
rounded shoulder on E is to prevent 
the cross from becoming displaced by 
a jar or accident. The ends of the 
cross are inserted through the holes C 
of the stirrups, then slipped back so the 
knife edges engage in the V-shaped 
holes of the stirrups. The cross must 
be so made that the knife edges will 
be in the same plane. This can be de¬ 
termined by placing two of the knife 
edges on the jaws of a vise and then 
laying two rules across the other two 
edges. The rules should just touch the 
jaws of the vise and the two knife 
edges of the cross. This makes a uni¬ 
versal joint almost free from friction 
and, what is most important, prevents 
the pendulum from twisting on its 
own axis. 

The pendulum F should be made of 
ash or oak, 1 % by 2 in., with a length 
depending on the height of the ceiling. 
A length of 7 ft. is about right for a 
10-ft. ceiling. 

A small table or platform, K, as 
shown in the lower part of Fig. 1, is 
fastened to the lower end of the pen¬ 
dulum as a support for the cards on 
which harmonograms are made. A 
weight, G, of about 30 or 40 lb.—a box 
filled with small weights will do—is 
attached to the pendulum just above 
the table. Another weight of about 
10 lb. is attached as shown at H. A 
pedestal, J, provides a means of sup¬ 
port for the stylus. The stylus arm 


















35 


should have pin-point bearings, to 
prevent any side motion. 

The length of the short pendulum 
H, which can be regulated, as shown 
in Fig. 1, should bear 
a certain and exactly 
fixed relation to the 
length of the main 
pendulum, for the 
swinging times of pen¬ 
dulums are inversely 
proportionate to their 
lengths, and unless the 
shorter pendulum is, 
for instance, exactly 
one-third, one-fourth, 
one-fifth, etc., as long 
as the other, that is, 
makes respectively 3, 

4 or 5 swings to one 
swing of the long pen¬ 
dulum, they will not 
harmonize and a per¬ 
fect harmonogram is 
not obtained. 

A good stylus to contain the ink is 
easily made from a glass tube % in* 
in diameter. Heat the tube in an al¬ 
cohol or Bunsen flame and then, by 
drawing the two portions apart and 
twisting at the same time, the tube 
may be drawn to a sharp point. An 
opening of any desired size is made in 


the point by rubbing it on a whetstone. 
Owing to the fact that the style of 
universal joint described has so little 
friction, the stylus point must be very 


fine, or the lines will overlap and blur. 
A small weight, such as a shoe but- 
toner, placed on the arm near the 
stylus will cause enough friction to 
make the pendulum “die” faster and 
thus remedy the trouble.—Contributed 
by Wm. R. Ingham, Rosemont, 
Arizona. 



Cutting Circular Holes in Thin 
Sheet Metal 

In arts and crafts work, occasion 
often arises to cut a perfectly circular 
hole in sheet copper or brass. To saw 
and file it out takes time and skill. 
Holes up to 3 in. in diameter can be cut 
quickly and accurately with an ordi¬ 
nary expansive bit. 

Fasten the sheet metal to a block of 
wood with handscrews or a vise. Punch 
a hole, with a nail set or punch, in the 
center of the circle to be cut, large 
enough to receive the spur of the ex¬ 
pansive bit. A few turns of the brace 
will cut out the circle and leave a 
smooth edge.—Contributed by James T. 
Gaffney, Chicago. 


Key Card for Writing Unreadable 
Post Cards 

A key card for use in correspondence 
on postals that makes the matter un¬ 
readable unless the recipient has a 
duplicate key card is made as follows: 
Rule two cards the size of postal, one 
for the sender and one for the receiver, 
dividing them into quarters. These 
quarters are subsequently divided into 
any convenient number of rectangular 
parts—six in this case. 

These parts are numbered from one 
to six in each quarter beginning at the 
outside corners and following in the 
same order in each quarter. Cut out 
one rectangle of each number with a 
sharp knife, distributing them over the 











36 


whole card. Then put a prominent 
figure 1 at the top of one side, 2 at the 
bottom and 3 and 4 on the other side. 
The numbering and the cutouts are 


is worked by a string passing through 
the top of the bench and should be 
weighted on the other end to facilitate 
the automatic downward movement. 



4 

4 

1 

2 

5 

5 



6 

6 

3 

3 

6 


3 

2. 


5 

2 

1 

4. 


1 


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The Key Card 


4. WRITTEN 


50 


shown in Fig. 1. The two key cards 
are made alike. 

The key card is used by placing it 
over a postal with the figure 1 at the 
top and writing in the spaces from left 
to right as usual, Fig. 3, then put 2 at 
the top, Fig. 4, and proceed as before, 
then 3 as in Fig. 5, and 4 as in Fig. 6. 
The result will be a jumble of words 
as shown in Fig. 2, which cannot be 
read to make any sense except by use 
of a key card.—Contributed by W. J. 
Morey, Chicago. 


Homemade Carpenter’s Vise 

The sketch shows an easily made, 
quick-working wood vise that has 
proved very satisfactory. The usual 
screw is replaced by an open bar held 
on one end by a wedge-shaped block, 



and the excess taken up on the other 
end by an eccentric lever. The wedge 


The capacity of the vise, of course, de¬ 
pends on the size and shape of the 
wedge-shaped block.—Contributed by 
J. H. Cruger, Cape May City, N. J. 


Toning Blue on Bromide and 
Platinum 

After some experimenting to secure 
a blue tone on bromide prints, a cor¬ 
respondent of the Photographic Times 
produced a very pleasing bluish green 
tint by immersing the prints in a solu¬ 
tion composed of 30 gr. of ferricyanide 
of potash, 30 gr. citrate of iron and 
ammonia, % oz. acetic acid and 4 oz. 
of water. After securing the tint de¬ 
sired, remove the prints, rinse them in 
clean water for a few minutes, and 
then place them in a dilute solution 
of hydrochloric acid. Wash the prints 
thoroughly and hang them up with 
clips to dry. 


Cutting Loaf Bread 

When cutting a loaf of bread do not 
slice it from the outer crusted end. 
Cut through the center, then cut slices 
from the center toward the ends. The 
two cut surfaces can be placed to¬ 
gether, thus excluding the air and 
keeping the bread fresh as long as 
there is any left to slice.—Contributed 
by L. Alberta Norrell, Augusta, Ga, 



















































































37 


How to Make an Electric Toaster 


The electric toaster shown in the 
sketch is not hard to make. The frame¬ 
work comprising the base and the two 
uprights may be made either of hard¬ 
wood or asbestos board, says Popular 
Electricity. If constructed of the 
former, the portion of the base under 
the coil, and the inside surfaces of the 
two uprights should be covered with 
a %-in. sheet of well made asbestos 
paper, or thin asbestos board may be 
substituted for this lining. Asbestos 
board is to be preferred, and this ma¬ 
terial in almost any degree of hard¬ 
ness may be purchased. It can be 
worked into shape and will hold wood- 
screws. The detail drawing gives all 
dimensions necessary to shape the 
wood or asbestos board. 

After preparing the base and up¬ 
rights, drill 15 holes, % in. deep, into 
the inside face of each upright to sup¬ 
port the No. 6 gauge wires shown. The 
wires at the top and bottom for hold¬ 
ing the resistance wire are covered 
with asbestos paper and the holes for 
these wires are % in. from the top and 
bottom, respectively, of the uprights. 
The wires that form the cage about the 
heater coil and are used for a support 
for the toast are 15 pieces of No. 6 
gauge iron wire each 8 in. long. The 
screws that hold the uprights in posi¬ 
tion should have the heads counter¬ 
sunk on the under side of the base. 
The binding-posts should now be set 
in position and their protecting cover¬ 



ing containing the reinforced cord left 
until the other parts are finished. 

To assemble, secure one upright in 
position using 1%-in. wood-screws. 
Place the other upright where it be¬ 


longs without fastening it and put the 
stretcher wires for holding the resist¬ 
ance wire in place. Put the asbestos 
paper on these and with the assistance 
of a helper begin winding on the heater 



Toaster Complete 


coil. Use 80 ft. of 18-per-cent No. 22 
gauge German-silver wire. Wind the 
successive turns of wire so they will 
not touch each other and fasten at each 
end with a turn or two of No. 16 gauge 
copper wire. When this is complete 
have the helper hold the stretcher wires 
while you tip the unfastened upright 
out and insert the wires of the cage; 
then fasten the upright in place. 

The wire from the binding-posts to 
the coil may be what is known as un¬ 
derwriters’ wire or asbestos-covered 
wire No. 14 gauge, which is held in 
. place by double-headed tacks contain¬ 
ing an insulation at the head. These 
may be procured from electrical sup¬ 
ply houses. Connect the reinforced 
cord and terminals to the binding 
screws and fasten the cover in place. 
This toaster will take four amperes on 
110-volt circuit. 


Cabinet for the Amateur’s Workshop 

One of the most convenient adjuncts 
to an amateur’s workbench is a cabinet 
of some sort in which to keep nails, 
rivets, screws, etc., instead of leaving 
them scattered all about the bench. A 
very easily made cabinet for this pur¬ 
pose is shown in the accompanying il¬ 
lustration. „ The case may be made of 
y 2 - in. white pine or white wood of a 
suitable size to hold the required num- 


























38 


ber of drawers which slide on strips of 
the same material, cut and dressed % 
in. square. The drawers are made of 
empty cigar boxes of uniform size, 



Empty Cigar Boxes Used for Drawers 


which, if one is not a smoker, may be 
readily obtained from any cigar dealer, 
as they are usually thrown away when 
empty. 

Small knobs may be added if desired, 
but these are not necessary, as the 
spaces shown between the drawers give 
ample room to grasp them with the 
fingers. Labels of some kind are 
needed, and one of the neatest things 
for this purpose is the embossed alumi¬ 
num label, such as is stamped by the 
well known penny-in-the-slot machines 
to be found in many railroad stations 
and amusement places.—Contributed 
by Frederick E. Ward, Ampere, N. Y. 


CPhotograph prints can be kept from 
curling when dry, by giving them the 
same treatment as was once used on 
films. Immerse for 5 minutes in a 
bath made by adding % oz. of glycer¬ 
ine to 16 oz. of water. 


Soldering for the Amateur 

Successful soldering will present no 
serious difficulties to anyone who will 
follow a few simple directions. Certain 
metals are easier to join with solder 
than others and some cannot be sol¬ 
dered at all. Copper, brass, zinc, tin, 
lead, galvanized iron, gold and silver 
or any combination of these metals can 
be easily soldered, while iron and alu¬ 
minum are common metals that cannot 
be soldered. 

It is necessary to possess a soldering 
copper, a piece of solder, tinner’s acid, 
sandpaper or steel wool, a small file and 
a piece of sal ammoniac. If the sol¬ 
dering copper is an old one, or has be¬ 
come corroded, it must be ground or 
filed to a point. Heat it until hot (not 
red hot), melt a little solder on the sal 
ammoniac, and rub the point of the 
copper on it, turning the copper over 
to thoroughly tin the point on each 
face. This process is known as tinning 
the iron and is very necessary to suc¬ 
cessful work. 

After the copper is tinned you may 
place it in the fire again, being careful 
about the heat, as too hot an iron will 
burn off the tinning. 

The parts to be soldered must be 
thoroughly cleaned by sandpapering or 
the use of steel wool until the metal 
shows up bright. Then apply the acid 
only to the parts to be soldered with a 
small stiff brush or a small piece of 
cloth fastened to a stick, or in a bent 
piece of tin to form a swab. 

Tinner’s acid is made by putting as 
much zinc in commercial muriatic acid 
as will dissolve. This process is best 
accomplished in an open earthenware 
dish. After the acid has ceased to boil 
and becomes cool it may be poured into 
a wide-mouthed bottle which has a 
good top or stopper, and labeled 
“Poison.” 

Place the parts to be soldered in 
their correct position and apply the 
hot copper to the solder, then to the 
joint to be soldered, following around 
with the copper and applying solder as 
is necessary. 

In joining large pieces, it is best to 











39 


“stick” them together in several places 
to hold the work before trying to get 
all around them. A little practice will 
soon teach the requisite amount of 
solder and the smoothness required for 
a good job. 

In soldering galvanized iron, the pure 
muriatic acid should be used, particu¬ 
larly so when the iron has once been 
used.—C. G. S., Eureka Springs, Ark. 


Washboard Holder 


How to Make a Finger Ring 

While the wearing of copper rings 
for rheumatism may be a foolish notion, 
yet there is a certain galvanic action 



FlG.l 


When using a washboard it will con¬ 
tinually slip down in the tub. This is 
considerable annoyance, especially if a 
large tub is used. The washboard can 
be kept in place with small metal 
hooks, as shown in the sketch. Two 
of these are fastened to the back of 




Clip on the Washboard 

the washboard in the right place to 
keep it at the proper slant.—Contrib¬ 
uted by W. A. Jaquythe, Richmond, 
California. 


A Mission Bracket Shelf 

The shelf consists of six pieces of 
wood A, B, C, D, E and F. The ma¬ 
terial can be of any 
wood. I have one 
made of mahogany 
finished in natural 
color, and one made of 
poplar finished black. 

The dimensions given 
in the detail drawings 
are sufficient for any¬ 
one to make this 
bracket. The amount 
of material required is 
very small and can be 
made from scrap, or 
purchased from a mill 
surfaced and sanded. 

The parts are put 

together with dowel pins.—Contributed 

by A. Larson, Kenosha, Wis. 


Tools for Forming the Ring 

set up by the contact of the acid in the 
system of the afflicted person with the 
metal of the ring. Apart from this, 
however, a ring may be made from any 
metal, such as copper, brass and silver, 
if such metals are in plate or sheet 
form, by the following method: 

All the tools necessary are a die and 
punch which are simple to make and 
will form a ring that will fit the aver¬ 
age finger. Take a %-in. nut, B, Fig. 
1, and drill out the threads. This will 
leave a clear hole, % in. in diameter, or 
a hole drilled the desired size in a 
piece of iron plate will do as well. 
Countersink the top of the hole so that 
the full diameter of the countersink 
will be 1% in. This completes the die. 
The punch A, is made of a piece of %- 
in. round iron, slightly rounded on the 
end so that it will not cut through the 
metal disk. The dimensions shown in 



Fig. 1 can be changed to suit the size 
of the finger to be fitted. 
























































40 


The metal used should be about 
in. thick and 1% in. in diameter. Anneal 
it properly by heating and plunging in 
water. Lay it on the die so that it will 
fit nicely in the countersink and drive 
it through the hole by striking the 
punch with a hammer. Hold the 
punch as nearly central as possible 
when starting to drive the metal 
through the hole. The disk will come 


out pan shaped, C, and it is only nec¬ 
essary to remove the bottom of the 
pan to have a band which will leave a 
hole % in. in diameter and l 1 /^ in. 
wide. Place the band, D, Fig. 2, on a 
stick so that the edges can be filed and 
rounded to shape. Finish with fine 
emery cloth and polish. Brass rings 
can be plated when finished.—Contrib¬ 
uted by H. W. Hankin, Troy, N. Y. 


How to Bind Magazines 


A great many readers of Popular 
Mechanics Magazine save their copies 
and have them bound in book form and 
some keep them without binding. The 
bound volumes make an attractive 
library and will always be valuable 
works of reference along mechanical 
lines. I bind my magazines at home 
evenings, with good results. Six 
issues make a well proportioned book, 
which gives two bound volumes each 
year. 

The covers of the magazines are re¬ 
moved, the wire binders pulled out 
with a pair of pliers and the advertis¬ 
ing pages removed from both sides, 
after which it will be found that the 
remainder is in sections, each section 
containing four double leaves or six¬ 
teen pages. These sections are each 
removed in turn from the others, using 
a pocket knife to separate them if they 
stick, and each section is placed as they 
were in the magazine upon each 
preceding one until all six numbers 
have been prepared. If started with 
the January or the July issue, the 
pages will be numbered consecutively 
through the entire pages of the six 
issues. 

The sections are then prepared for 
sewing. They are evened up on the 
edges by jarring on a flat surface. 
They are then placed between two 
pieces of board and all clamped in a 
vise. Five cuts, % in. deep, are made 
with a saw across the back of the 
sections, as shown in Fig. 1. Heavy 
plain paper is used for the flyleaves. 
The paper is cut double the same as 
the leaves comprising the sections, 


making either one or two double sec¬ 
tions for each side as desired. 

A frame for sewing will have to be 
made as shown in Fig. 2 before the 
work can be continued on the book. 
The frame is easily made of four pieces 
of wood. The bottom piece A should 
be a little larger than the book. The 
two upright pieces B are nailed to the 
outside edge, and a third piece, C, is 
nailed across the top. Small nails are 
driven part way into the base C to 
correspond to the saw cuts in the sec¬ 
tions. A piece of soft fiber string is 
stretched from each nail to the cross¬ 
piece C and tied. 

Coarse white thread, size 16 or 
larger, is used for the sewing material. 
Start with the front of the book. Be 
sure that all sections are in their right 
places and that the flyleaves are pro¬ 
vided in the front and back. Take the 
sections of the flyleaves on top, which 
should be notched the same as the saw 
cuts in the book sections, and place 
them against the strings in the 
frame. Place the left hand on the 
inside of the leaves where they are 
folded and start a blunt needle, 
threaded double, through the notch on 
the left side of the string No. 1 in 
Fig. 2. Take hold of the needle with 
the right hand and pass it to the left 
around the string No. 1, then back 
through the notch on the right side. 
Fasten the thread by tying or making 
a knot in the end and passing the 
needle through it. After drawing the 
thread tightly, pass the needle through 
the notch on the left side of the string 
No. 2, passing it around the string and 



41 


tying in the same manner as for No. 
1. Each section is fastened to the five 
strings in the same manner, the thread 
being carried across from each tie 
from No. 1 to 2 then to 3 and so on 



Frame for Sewing Sections 


until all strings are tied. The string 
No. 5 is treated in the same manner 
only that the needle is run through on 
the left side of the string a second 
time, leaving the needle on the out¬ 
side in position for the next section, 
which is fastened the same as the first, 
the needle being passed through the 
notch on the right side of the string 
No. 5, and then to string No. 4, pass¬ 
ing around on the right side and back 
on the left and so on. Keep the thread 
drawn up tightly all the time. 

After the sewing is completed cut 
the strings, allowing about 2 in. of the 
ends extending on each side. The fi¬ 
bers of these ends are separated and 
combed out so that they can be glued 
to the covers to serve as a hinge. A 
piece of cheesecloth is cut to the size 
of the back and glued to it. Ordinary 
liquid glue is the best adhesive to use. 

Procure heavy cardboard for the 
covers and cut two pieces % in. longer 
and just the same width as the maga¬ 
zine pages. The covering can be of 
cloth, leather or paper according to 
the taste and resources of the maker. 
The covering should be cut out 1 in. 
larger on all edges than both covers 
and space on the back. Place the 
cardboard covers on the book, allow¬ 
ing a margin of % in. on all edges 
except the back, and measure the dis¬ 
tance between the back edges of the 
covers across the back of the book. 

Place the cardboard covers on the 
back of the covering the proper dis¬ 
tance apart as measured for the back, 


and mark around each one. Spread a 
thin coat of glue on the surface of 
each and lay them on by the marks 
made. Cut a notch out of the cover¬ 
ing so it will fold in, and, after gluing 



The Bound Book 


a strip of paper to the covering be¬ 
tween the covers to strengthen the 
back, fold over the outside edges of 
the Covering and glue it down all 
around. 

Place the cover on the book in the 
right position, glue the hinges fast to 
the inside of the covers, then glue the 
first flyleaf to the inside of the cover 
on both front and back and place the 
whole under a weight until dry.— 
Contributed by Clyde E. Divine, Col¬ 
lege View, Nebr. 


Metal Coverings for Leather Hinges 

A method of making a leather hinge 
work as well as an ordinary steel butt 
is to cover the wings with sheet metal. 
The metal can be fastened with nails 
or screws over the parts of the leather 
attached to the wood. Tinplate, iron 



Metal Parts Screwed on Leather Hinge 


hoops, zinc or thin brass cut in neat de¬ 
signs will make a leather hinge appear 
as well as a metal hinge.—Contributed 
by Tom Hutchinson, Encanto, Cal. 

CA hot-water bottle held against a 
porous plaster will assist in quickly 
removing it from the skin. 





























42 


How to Make a Cheap Bracket Saw 

For the frame use %-in. round iron, 
bending it as shown in the diagram and 
filing a knob on each end, at opposite 
sides to each other, on which to hook 
the blade. 

For the blade an old talking-machine 



spring or a clock spring will do nicely. 
Heat the spring enough to take some 
of the temper out of it, in order to drill 
the holes in the ends, as shown, and file 
in the teeth. Make the blade 12 in. 
long, with 10 teeth to the inch. A and 
B show how the blade fits on the frame. 
—Contributed by Willard J. Hays, 
Summitville, Ohio. 


How to Make a Cannon 

A cannon like the one in the cut may 
be made from a piece of 1-in. hydraulic 
pipe, A, with a steel sleeve, B, and a 
long thread plug, C. Be sure to get 
hydraulic pipe, or double extra heavy, 
as it is sometimes called, as common 
gas pipe is entirely too light for this 
purpose. Don’t have the pipe too long 
or the cannon will not make as much 



Toy Cannon 


noise. Seven or eight inches is about 
the right length for a 1-in. bore. Screw 
the plug and pipe up tightly and then 
drill a T^-in. fuse hole at D. 


If desired the cannon may be 
mounted on a block of wood, F, by 
means of a U-bolt or large staple, E. 
—Contributed by Carson Birkhead, 
Moorhead, Miss. 


Controller for a Small Motor 

An easy way of making a controlling 
and reversing device for small motors 
is as follows: 

Cut a piece of wood (A) about 6 in. 
by 4% in., and 14 in. thick, and another 
piece (B) 6 in. by 1 in., and % in. thick. 
Drive a nail through this near the cen¬ 
ter for a pivot (C). To the under side 
of one end nail a copper brush (D) to 
extend out about an inch. On the up¬ 
per side, at the same end, nail another 
brush (E) so that it projects at both 
sides and is bent down to the level of 
the end brush. Then on the board put 



a semi-circle of brass-headed tacks as 
shown at F, leaving a small space at 
the middle and placing five tacks on 
either side, so that the end brush will 
come in contact with each one. Con¬ 
nect these tacks on the under side of 
the board with coils of German-silver 
wire, using about 8 in. of wire to each 
coil. Fix these by soldering or bend¬ 
ing over the ends of the tacks. Then 
nail two strips of copper (G) in such 
position that the side brush will re¬ 
main on the one as long as the end 
brush remains on the tacks on that side. 

Put sides about IV 2 in. high around 
this apparatus, raising the board a little 
from the bottom to allow room for the 
coil. A lid may be added if desired. 
Connect up as shown.—-Contributed by 
Chas. H. Boyd, Philadelphia. 



























































43 



Wiring Plan for Water Rheostat 


The materials necessary are: One 
5-point wood-base switch, 4 jars, some 
sheet copper or brass for plates, about 
5 ft. of rubber-covered wire, and some 
No. 18 gauge wire for the wiring. 

The size of the jars depends on the 
voltage. If you are going to use a 
current of low tension, as from bat¬ 
teries, the jars need not be very large, 
but if you intend to use the electric- 
light current of 110 voltage it will be 
necessary to use large jars or wooden 
boxes made watertight, which wfll hold 
about 6 or 7 gal. Each jar to be filled 
with 20 parts water to 1 part sulphuric 
acid. Jars are set in a row in some 
convenient place out of the way. 

Next cut out eight copper or brass 
disks, two for each jar. Their size 
also depends on the voltage. The 
disks that are placed in the lower part 
of the jars are connected with a rubber- 
covered wire extending a little above 
the top of the jar. 

To wire the apparatus, refer to the 


sketch and you will see that jar No. 1 
is connected to point No. 1 on switch ; 
No. 2, on No. 2, and so on until all is 
complete and we have one remaining 
point on switch. Above the jars place 
a wire to suspend the other or top disks 
in the solution. This wire is also con¬ 
nected to one terminal on the motor 
and to remaining point on switch. The 
arm of the switch is connected to one 
terminal of battery, or source of cur¬ 
rent, and the other terminal connected 
direct to remaining terminal of motor. 

Put arm of switch on point No. 1 
and lower one of the top disks in jar 
No. 1 and make contact with wire 
above jars. The current then will flow 
through the motor. The speed for 
each point can be determined by low¬ 
ering top disks in jars. The top disk 
in jar No. 2 is lower down than in No. 
1 and so on for No. 3 and No. 4. The 
connection between point No. 5 on 
switch, direct to wire across jars, gives 
full current and full speed.- 


































































44 


How to Build a Toboggan Sled 

By A. BOETTE 

The first object of the builder of a 
sled should be to have a “winner,” 
both in speed and appearance. The 
accompanying instructions for build¬ 
ing a sled are designed to produce 
these results. 

The sled completed should be 15 ft. 
2 in. long by 22 in. wide, with the cush¬ 
ion about 15 in. above the ground. 
For the baseboard select .a pine board 
15 ft. long, 11 in. wide and 2 in. thick, 
and plane it on all edges. Fit up the 
baseboard with ten oak foot-rests, 22 
in. long, 3 in. wide and % in. thick. 
Fasten them on the under side of the 
baseboard at right angles to its length 
and 16 in. apart, beginning at the rear. 
At the front 24 or 26 in. will be left 
without cross, bars for fitting on the 
auto front. On the upper side of the 
cross bars at their ends on each side 
screw a piece of oak 1 in. square by 14 
ft. long. On the upper side of the 
baseboard at its edge on each side 
screw an oak strip 3 in. wide by % in. 
thick and the length of the sled from 
the back to the auto front. These are 
to keep the cushion from falling out. 
See Fig. 1. For the back of the sled 
use the upper part of a child’s high 
chair, taking out the spindles and re¬ 
setting them in the rear end of the 
baseboard. Cover up the outside of 
the spindles with a piece of galvanized 
iron. 

The construction of the runners is 
shown by Figs. 2 and 3. The stock 
required for them is oak, two pieces 
30 in. by 5 in. by 1% in., two pieces 34 
in. by 5 in. by 1% in., two pieces 14 in. 
by 6 in. by 2 in., and four pieces 14 in. 
by 2 in. by 1 in. They should be put 
together with large screws about 3 in. 
long.. Use no nails, as they are not sub¬ 
stantial enough. In proportioning them 
the points A, B and C, Fig. 2, are im¬ 
portant. For the front runners these 
measurements are: A, 30 in.; B, 4 in.; 
C, 15% in., and for the rear runners: A, 
34 in.; B, 7 in.; C, 16% in. The screw- 


eyes indicated must be placed in a 
straight line and the holes for them 
carefully centered. A variation of fa 
in. one way or another would cause a 
great deal of trouble. For the steel 
runners use %-in. cold-rolled steel flat¬ 
tened at the ends for screw holes. Use 
no screws on the running surface, how¬ 
ever, as they “snatch” the ice. 

The mechanism of the front steering 
gear is shown at Fig. 3 A %-in. steel 
rod makes a good steering rod. Flat¬ 
ten the steering rod at one end and 
sink it into the wood. Hold it in 
place by means of an iron plate drilled 
to receive the rod and screwed to block 
X. An iron washer, Z, is used to re¬ 
duce friction; bevel block K to give 
a rocker motion. Equip block X with 
screweyes, making them clear those 
in the front runner, and bolt through. 
For the rear runner put a block with 
screweyes on the baseboard and run 
a bolt through. 

Construct the auto front (Fig. 4) 
of %-in. oak boards. The illustration 
shows how to shape it. Bevel it to¬ 
ward all sides and keep the edges 
sharp, as sharp edges are best suited 
for the brass trimmings which are to 
be added. When the auto front is in 
place enamel the sled either a dark 
maroon or a . creamy white. First 
sandpaper all the wood, then apply a 
coat of thin enamel. Let stand for 
three days and apply another coat. 
Three coats of enamel and one of thin 
varnish will make a fine-looking sled. 
For the brass trimmings use No. 27 B. 
& S. sheet brass 1 in. wide on all the 
front edges and pieces 3 in. square on 
the cross bars to rest the feet against. 
On the door of the auto front put the 
monogram of the owner or owners of 
the sled, cutting it out of sheet brass. 

For the steering-wheel procure an 
old freight-car “brake” wheel, brass- 
plated. Fasten a horn, such as used 
on automobiles, to the wheel. 

Make the cushion of leather and stuff 
it with hair. The best way is to get 
some strong, cheap material, such as 
burlap, sew up one end and make in 


45 



Constructing a “Winner” Toboggan Sled 


the form of an oblong bag. Stuff this 
as tightly as possible with hair. Then 
get some upholstery buttons, fasten a 
cord through the loop, bring the cord 
through to the underside of the cush¬ 
ion, and fasten the button by slipping 
a nail through the knot. Then put a 
leather covering over the burlap, sew¬ 
ing it to the burlap on the under side. 
Make the cushion for the back in the 
same way. On top of the cushion sup¬ 
ports run a brass tube to serve the 
double purpose of holding the cushion 
down and affording something to hold 
on to. 

If desired, bicycle lamps may be fas¬ 
tened to the front end, to improve the 
appearance, and it is well to have a 
light of some kind at the back to avoid 
the danger of rear-end collisions. 

The door of the auto front should be 
hinged and provided with a lock so 
that skates, parcels, overshoes, lunch, 
etc., may be stowed within. A silk 


pennant with a monogram adds to the 
appearance. 

If desired, a brake may be added to 
the sled. This can be a wrought-iron 
lever lV 2 in. by V 2 in. by 30 in. long, 
so pivoted that moving the handle will 
cause the end to scrape the ice. This 
sled can be made without lamps and 
horn at a cost of about $15, or with 
these for $25, and the pleasure derived 
from it well repays the builder. If 
the expense is greater than one can af¬ 
ford, a number of boys may share in 
the ownership. 

Burning Inscriptions on Trees 

Scrape off the bark just enough to 
come to the first light under coating, 
which is somewhat moist. With a 
lead pencil make an outline of the in¬ 
scription to be burnt on the tree and 
bring the rays of a large magnifying 
glass not quite to a fine focus on the 
same. The tree will be burnt along the 


































































46 


pencil marks, and if the glass is not 
held in one spot too long, the inscrip¬ 
tion will be burnt in as evenly as if it 
had been written.—Contributed by 
Stewart H. Leland, Lexington, Ill. 


How to Make Small Gearwheels 
Without a Lathe 

To make small models sundry small 
gears and racks are required, either 
cut for the place or by using the parts 
from an old clock. With no other tools 
than a hacksaw, some files, a compass, 



and with the exercise of a little pa¬ 
tience and moderate skill, very good 
teeth may be cut on blank wheels. 

First take the case of a small gear¬ 
wheel, say 1 in. outside diameter and 
W in. thick, with twenty-four teeth. 
Draw a circle on paper, the same di¬ 
ameter as the wheel. Divide the cir¬ 
cumference into the number of parts 
desired, by drawing diameters, Fig. 1. 
The distance AB will be approxi¬ 
mately the pitch. Now describe a 
smaller circle for the base of the teeth 
and halfway between these circles may 
be taken as the pitch circle. 

Now describe a circle the same size 
as the largest circle on a piece of iVm. 
sheet metal, and having cut it out and 
filed it up to this circle, fasten the 
marked-out paper circle accurately over 
it with glue. Saw-cuts can now be 
made down the diameters to the 
smaller circle with the aid of a saw 
guide, Fig. 2, made from iVin. mild 
steel or iron. This guide should have 
a beveled edge, E, from F to G, to lay 


along the line on which the saw-cut 
is to be made. The straight-edge, CD, 
should be set back one-half the 
thickness of the saw-blades, so that the 
center of the blade, when flat against 
it, will be over the line FG. A small 
clearance space, FC, must be made to 
allow the teeth of the saw to pass. 

The guide should then be placed 
along one of the diameters and held in 
position until gripped in the vise, Fig. 
3. The first tooth may now be cut, 
care being taken to keep the blade of 
the saw flat up to the guiding edge. 
The Model Engineer, London, says if 
this is done and the saw-guide well 
made, the cut will be central on the 
line, and if the marking-out is cor¬ 
rect the teeth will be quite uniform all 
the way round. A small ward file will 
be needed to finish off the teeth to their 
proper shape and thickness. 

In making a worm wheel the cuts 
must be taken in a sloping direction, 
the slope and pitch depending on the 
slope and pitch of the worm thread, 
which, though more difficult, may also 
be cut with a hacksaw and file. 

A bevel wheel should be cut in the 
same manner as the spur wheel, but the 
cut should be deeper on the side which 
has the larger diameter. To cut a 
rack the pitch should be marked along 
the side, and the guide and saw used 
as before (Fig. 4). 


How to Make Four Pictures on One 
Plate 

Secure two extra slides for the plate- 
holders and cut one corner out on one 



Four Photos on One Plate 

of them, as shown in Fig. 1 . Make a 
hole in the other, as shown in Fig. 2. 
With a lead pencil draw on the ground 































47 


glass one line vertical and one hori¬ 
zontal, each in the center. This will 
divide the ground glass into four equal 
parts. 

Focus the camera in the usual man¬ 
ner, but get the picture desired to fill 
only one of the parts on the ground 
glass. Place the plate-holder in posi¬ 
tion and draw the regular slide; sub¬ 
stitute one of the slides prepared and 
expose in the usual way. 

If a small picture is to be made in 
the lower left-hand corner of the plate, 
place the prepared slide with the cor¬ 
ner cut, as shown in Fig. 1. The slide 
may be turned over for the upper left- 
hand corner and then changed for slide 
shown in Fig. 2 for the upper and lower 
right-hand corners. 

Electric Blue-Light Experiment 

Take a jump-spark coil and connect it 
up with a battery and start the vibra¬ 
tor. Then take 
one outlet wire, R, 
and connect to 
one side of a 2-cp. 
electric lamp, and 
the other outlet 
wire, B, hold in 
one hand, and 
press all fingers of the other hand on 
globe at point A. A bright, blue light 
will come from the wires in the lamp 
to the surface of the globe where the 
fingers touch. No shock will be per¬ 
ceptible. 


Interesting Electrical Experiment 

The materials necessary for perform¬ 
ing this experiment are: Telephone re¬ 
ceiver, transmitter, some wire and 
some carbons, either the pencils for arc 
lamps, or ones taken from old dry bat¬ 
teries will do. 

Run a line from the inside of the 
house to the inside of some other build' 
ing and fasten it to one terminal of 
the receiver. To the other terminal 
fasten another piece of wire and ground 
it on the water faucet in the house. If 
there is no faucet in the house, ground 
it with a large piece of zinc. 


Fasten the other end to one terminal 
of the transmitter and from the other 
terminal of the same run a wire into 
the ground. The ground here should 
consist either of a large piece of carbon, 



or several pieces bound tightly to¬ 
gether. 

If a person speak into the trans¬ 
mitter, one at the receiver can hear 
what is said, even though there are no 
batteries in the circuit. It is a well- 
known fact that two telephone re¬ 
ceivers connected up in this way will 
transmit words between two persons, 
for the voice vibrating the diaphragm 
causes an inductive current to flow and 
the other receiver copies these vibra¬ 
tions. But in this experiment, a trans¬ 
mitter which induces no current is 
used. Do the carbon and the zinc 
and the moist earth form a battery?— 
Contributed by Wm. J. Slattery, Ems- 
worth, Pa. 


A Cheap Fire Alarm 

An electrical device for the barn that 
will give an alarm in case of fire is 
shown in the accompanying diagram. 
A is a wooden block, which is fastened 
under the loft at a gable end of the 
barn; B is an iron weight attached to 
the string C, and this string passes up 
through the barn to the roof, then 
over a hook or pulley and across the 
barn, under the gable, and is fastened to 
the opposite end of the barn. 

D D are binding posts for electric 
wires. They have screw ends, as 
shown, by which means they are fas¬ 
tened to the wooden block A. They 
also hold the brass piece E and the 


























48 


strip of spring brass F in place against 
the wooden block. G is a leather strap 
fastened to the weight B and the spring 
F connected to the latter by a small 
sink bolt. 



At the house an electric bell is placed 
wherever convenient. Several battery 
cells, of course, are also needed. Dry 
batteries are most convenient. The 
battery cells and bell are connected 
in the usual manner, and one wire from 
the bell and one from the battery are 
strung to the barn and connected to the 
binding posts D D. 

If a fire occurs in the hay-mow the 
blaze will generally shoot toward the 
gable soon after it starts, and will then 
burn the string C, which allows the 
weight B to fall and pull the brass 
spring against the iron piece E, which 
closes the circuit and rings the bell in 
the house. 

If desired, the string may be 
stretched back and forth under the roof 
several times or drawn through any 
place that is in danger of fire.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Geo. B. Wrenn, Ashland, Ohio. 

How to Make a Small Electric 
Furnace 

Take a block of wood and shape into 
a core. One like a loaf of bread, and 
about that size, serves admirably. 
Wrap a layer of asbestos around it and 
cover this with a thin layer of plaster- 
of-paris. When the plaster is nearly 
dry wind a coil of No. 36 wire around 
it, taking care that the wire does not 
touch itself anywhere. Put another 


course of plaster-of-paris on this, and 
again wind the wire around it. Con¬ 
tinue the process of alternate layers of 
plaster and wire until 500 ft. or more 
of the latter has been used, leaving 
about 10 in. at each end for terminals. 
Then set the whole core away to dry. 

For a base use a pine board 10 in. 
by 12 in. by 1 in. Bore four holes at 
one end for binding-posts, as indicated 
by E E. Connect the holes in pairs by 
ordinary house fuse wire. At one side 
secure two receptacles, B B, and one 
single post switch, C. Place another 
switch at I and another binding-post 
at F. The oven is now ready to be 
connected. 

Withdraw the wooden core from the 
coils of wire and secure the latter by 
bands of tin to the board. Connect 
the ends of the wire to -binding-posts 
E and F, as shown. From the other 
set of binding-posts, E, run a No. 12 
or No. 14 wire, connecting lamp recep¬ 
tacles, B B, and switch, C, in parallel. 
Connect these three to switch, D, in se¬ 
ries with binding-post, F, the terminal 
of the coil. Place 16-cp. lights in the 
receptacles and connect the fuses with 
a 110-volt lighting circuit. The appa¬ 
ratus is now ready for operation. Turn 
on switch, D, and the lamps, while C 
is open. The coil will commence to 
become warm, soon drying out the 
plaster-of-paris. To obtain more heat 



open one lamp, and to obtain still more 
open the other and close switch C.— 
Contributed by Eugene Tuttles, Jr., 
Newark, Ohio. 










































49 


How to Make an Ammeter 

Every amateur mechanic who per¬ 
forms electrical experiments will find 
use for an ammeter, and for the bene¬ 
fit of those who wish to construct such 
an instrument the following descrip¬ 
tion is given: The operative principle 


of this instrument is the same as that 
of a galvanometer, except that its 
working position is not confined to the 
magnetic meridian. This is accom¬ 
plished by making the needle revolve 
in a vertical instead of a horizontal 
plane. The only adjustment neces¬ 
sary is that of leveling, which is ac¬ 
complished by turning the thumb¬ 
screw shown at A, Fig. 1, until the 
hand points to zero on the scale. 

First make a support, Fig. 2, by 
bending a piece of sheet brass to the 
shape indicated and tapping for the 
screws CC. These should have hol¬ 
low ends, as shown, for the purpose of 
receiving the pivoted axle which sup¬ 
ports the hand. The core, Fig. 3, is 
made of iron. It is 1 in. long, in¬ 
wide and % in. thick. At a point a 
little above the center, drill a hole as 
shown at H, and through this hole 
drive a piece of knitting-needle about 
i/ 2 in. long, or long enough to reach 
between the two screws shown in Fig. 
2. The ends of this small axle should 
be ground pointed and should turn 
easily in the cavities, as the sensitive- 


i 


ness of the instrument depends on 
the ease with which this axle turns. 

After assembling the core as shown 
in Fig. 4, it should be filed a little at 
one end until it assumes the position 
indicated. The pointer or hand, Fig. 
5, is made of wire, aluminum being 


preferable for this purpose, although 
copper or steel will do. Make the wire 
4% in. long and make a loop, D, % 
in. from the lower end. Solder to the 
short end a piece of brass, E, of such 
weight that it will exactly balance the 
weight of the hand. This is slipped 
on the pivot, and the whole thing is 
again placed in position in the support. 
If the pointer is correctly balanced it 
should take the position shown in Fig. 
1, but if it is not exactly right a little 
filing will bring it near enough so that 
it may be corrected by the adjusting- 
screw. 

Next make a brass frame as shown 
in Fig. 6. This may be made of wood, 
although brass is better, as the eddy 
currents set up in a conductor sur¬ 
rounding a magnet tend to stop oscil¬ 
lation of the magnet. (The core is 
magnetized when a current flows 
through the instrument.) The brass 
frame is wound with magnet wire, the 
size depending on the number of am¬ 
peres to be measured. Mine is wound 
with two layers of No. 14 wire, 10 
turns to each layer, and is about right 



















































50 


for ordinary experimental purposes. 
The ends of the wire are fastened to 
the binding posts B and C, Fig. 1. 

A wooden box, D, is then made and 
provided with a glass front. A piece 
of paper is pasted on a piece of wood, 
which is then fastened in the box in 
such a position that the hand or pointer 
will lie close to the paper scale. 
The box is 5% in. high, 4 in. wide and 
1 % in. deep, inside measurements. 
After everything is assembled put a 
drop of solder on the loop at D, Fig. 5, 
to prevent it turning on the axle. 

To calibrate the instrument connect 
as shown in Fig. 7, where A is the 
homemade ammeter; B, a standard 
ammeter; C, a variable resistance, and 
D, a battery, consisting of three or 
more cells connected in multiple. 
Throw in enough resistance to make 
the standard instrument read 1 ohm 
and then put a mark on the paper scale 
of the instrument to be calibrated. 
Continue in this way with 2 amperes, 
3 amperes, 4 amperes, etc., until the 
scale is full. To make a voltmeter 
out of this instrument, wind with 
plenty of No. 36 magnet wire instead 
of No. 14, or if it is* desired to make 
an instrument for measuring both 
volts and amperes, use both windings 
and connect to two pairs of binding 
posts.—Contributed by J. E. Dussault, 
Montreal. 


How to Make a Three-Way Cock for 
Small Model-Work 

In making models of machines it is 
often necessary to contrive some meth¬ 
od for a 3- or 4- 
way valve or 
cock. To make 
one, secure a pet 
cock and drill 
and tap hole 
through, as shown 
in the cut. If for 
3-way, drill in 
only to the open- 
ing already 
through, but if for a 4-way, drill 
through the entire case and valve. Be 


sure to have valve B turned so as to 
drill at right angles to the opening 
through it. After drilling, remove the 
valve, take of! the.burr with a piece 
of emery paper and replace ready for 
work. _ 

Easy Experiments with Electric-Light 
Circuit 

An electric-light circuit will be found 
much less expensive than batteries for 
performing electrical experiments. The 
sketch shows how a small arc light and 
motor may be connected to the light 
socket, A. The light is removed and 
a plug with wire connections is put in 
its place. One wire runs to the switch, 
B, and the other connects with the 
water rheostat, which is used for re¬ 
ducing the current. 



Arc-Light Motor and Water Rheostat 


A tin can, C, is filled nearly to the 
top with salt water, and a metal rod, 
D, is passed through a piece of wood 
fastened at the top of the can. When 
the metal rod is lowered the current in¬ 
creases, and as it is withdrawn the cur¬ 
rent grows weaker. In this way the 
desired amount of current can be ob¬ 
tained. 

By connecting the motor, E, and the 
arc light, F, as shown, either one may 
be operated by turning switch B to the 
corresponding point. The arc light is 
easily made by fastening two electric- 
light carbons in a wooden frame like 
that shown. To start the light, turn the 
current on strong and bring the points 
of the carbons together; then separate 
slightly by twisting the upper carbon 
and at the same time drawing it 
through the hole. 


































51 


How to Make an Interrupter 

The Wenult interrupter is an in¬ 
strument much used on large coils and 
is far more efficient than the usual 



form of -vibrdtors. It can also be used 
with success on small coils as well as 
large. Although it is a costly instru¬ 
ment to purchase, it can be made with 
practically no expense and the con¬ 
struction is very simple. 

First procure a wide-mouthed bottle 
about 4 in. high, provided with a rubber 
stopper. This stopper should be 
pierced, making two holes about % in. 
in diameter. 

From a sheet of lead tV in. in thick¬ 


out with a small stick until it fits 
against the side, leaving the small strip 
at the top projecting through the neck 
of the bottle. Bend this strip to one 
side and fit in the stopper, as shown in 
C. A small binding-post is fastened at 
the end of the strip. 

Having fixed the lead plate in posi¬ 
tion, next get a piece of glass tube 
having a bore of about 1/32 of an inch 
in diameter. A piece of an old ther¬ 
mometer tube will serve this purpose. 
Insert this tube in the hole in the 
stopper farthest from the lead plate. 
Get a piece of wire that will fit the 
tube and about 6 in. long, and fasten 
a small binding-post on one end and 
stick the other into the tube. This 
wire should fit the hole in the tube so it 
can be easily moved. In the hole near¬ 
est the lead plate insert a small glass 
funnel. 

The interrupter as it is when com¬ 
plete is shown at D, Fig. 1. Having 
finished the interrupter, connect it with 
the electric-light circuit as shown in 
Fig. 2. Fill the bottle with water to 
about the line as shown in D, Fig. 1. 
Adjust the wire in the small glass tube 
so that it projects about % in. Add 
sulphuric acid until the water level 
rises about tg in* Turn on the current 
and press the button, B. If all ad¬ 



ness cut a piece shaped like A, Fig. 1. 
Common tea lead folded several times 
will serve the purpose. When in the 
bottle this lead should be of such a size 
that it will only reach half way around, 
as shown in B. To insert the lead 
plate, roll it up so it will pass through 
the neck of the bottle, then smooth it 


justments are correct, there will be a 
loud crackling noise from the interrup¬ 
ter, a violet flame will appear at the 
end of the wire and a hot spark will 
pass between the secondary terminals. 
If the interrupter does not work at 
first, add more sulphuric acid through 
the funnel and press the wire down a 












































52 


little more into the liquid. A piece of 
wood, A, Fig. 2, should be inserted in 
vibrator to prevent it from working.— 
Contributed by Harold L. Jones, 
Carthage, N. Y. 


A Miniature “Pepper’s Ghost” 
Illusion 

Probably many readers have seen a 
“Pepper’s Ghost” illusion at some 
amusement place. As there shown, 
the audience is generally seated in a 
dark room at the end of which there is 
a stage with black hangings. One of 
the audience is invited onto the stage, 
where he is placed in an upright open 


lighted only from behind the glass. 
Hence the coffin and its occupant are 
seen through the glass very plainly. 
The lights in front of the glass (behind 
the scenes) are now raised very gradu¬ 
ally as those behind the glass are 
turned down, until it is dark there. The 
perfectly black surface behind the glass 
now acts like the silver backing for a 
mirror, and the object upon which the 
light is now turned—in this case the 
skeleton—is reflected in the glass, ap¬ 
pearing to the audience as if really oc¬ 
cupying the stage. 

The model, which requires no special 
skill except that of carpentry, is con¬ 
structed as shown in the drawings. 



coffin. A white shroud is thrown over 
his body, and his clothes and flesh 
gradually fade away till nothing but 
his skeleton remains, which imme¬ 
diately begins to dance a horrible 
rattling jig. The skeleton then fades 
away and the man is restored again. 

A simple explanation is given in the 
Model Engineer. Between the audi¬ 
ence and the coffin is a sheet of trans¬ 
parent glass, inclined at an angle so 
as to reflect objects located behind the 
scenes, but so clear as to be invisible 
to the audience and the man in the 
coffin. At the beginning the stage is 


The box containing the stage should 
be 14 in. by 7 in. by 7% in., inside di¬ 
mensions. The box need not be made 
of particularly good wood, as the en¬ 
tire interior, with the exception of the 
glass, figures and lights, should be 
colored a dull black. This can well be 
done by painting with a solution of 
lampblack in turpentine. If every¬ 
thing is not black, especially the joints 
and background near A, the illusion 
will be spoiled. 

The glass should be the clearest pos¬ 
sible, and must be thoroughly cleansed. 
Its edges should nowhere be visible, and 






















































53 


it should be free from scratches and 
imperfections. The figure A should be 
a doll about 4 in. high, dressed in bril¬ 
liant, light-colored garments. The 
skeleton is made of papier mache, and 
can be bought at Japanese stores. It 
should preferably be one with arms 
suspended by small spiral springs, 
giving a limp, loose-jointed effect. The 
method of causing the skeleton to dance 
is shown in the front view. The figure 
is hung from the neck by a blackened 
stiff wire attached to the hammer wire 
of an electric bell, from which the 
gong has been removed. When the 
bell works he will kick against the rear 
wall, and wave his arms up and down, 
thus giving as realistic a dance as any¬ 
one could expect from a skeleton. 

The lights, L and M, should be min¬ 
iature electric lamps, which can be run 
by three dry cells. They need to give 
a fairly strong light, especially L, 
which should have a conical tin re¬ 
flector to increase its brilliancy and 
prevent its being reflected in the glass. 

Since the stage should be some dis¬ 
tance from the audience, to aid the 
illusion, the angle of the glass and the 
inclination of the doll, A, has been so 
designed that if the stage is placed 
on a mantle or other high shelf, the 
image of A will appear upright to an 
observer sitting in a chair some dis¬ 
tance away, within the limits of an or¬ 
dinary room. If it is desired to place 
the box lower down, other angles for 
the image and glass may be found nec¬ 
essary, but the proper tilt can be found 
readily by experiment. 

The electric connections are so sim¬ 
ple that they are not shown in the 
drawings. All that is necessary is a 
two-point switch, by which either L or 
M can be placed in circuit with the 
battery, and a press button in circuit 
with the bell and its cell. 

If a gradual transformation is de¬ 
sired, a double-pointed rheostat could 
be used, so that as one light dims the 
other increases in brilliancy, by the in¬ 
sertion and removal of resistance coils. 

With a clear glass and a dark room 


this model has proved to be fully as 
bewildering as its prototype. 


Experiment with Colored Electric 
Lamps 

To many the following experiment 
may be much more easily performed 
than explained: Place the hand or 
other object in the light coming from 
two incandescent lamps, one red and 


one white, placed about a foot apart, 
and allow the shadow to fall on a white 
screen such as a table-cloth. Portions 
of the shadow will then appear to be a 
bright green. A similar experiment 
consists in first turning on the red 
light for about a minute and then turn¬ 
ing it off at the same time that the 
white one is turned on. The entire 
screen will then appear to be a vivid 
green for about one second, after which 
it assumes its normal color. 


To Explode Powder with Electricity 

A 1-in. hole was bored in the center 
of a 2-in. square block. Two finishing- 
nails were driven 
in, as shown in 
the sketch. 
These were con¬ 
nected to termi¬ 
nals of an induc¬ 
tion coil. After 
everything was 
ready the pow¬ 
der was poured 
in the hole and a 
board weighted with rocks placed over 
the block. When the button is pressed 



Two-Colored Hand 































































54 


or the circuit closed in some other way 
the discharge occurs. The distance 
between the nail points—which must 
be bright and clean—should be just 
enough to give a good, fat spark.— 
Contributed by Geo. W. Fry, San Jose, 
Cal. 


Simple Wireless System 

The illustrations will make plain a 
simple and inexpensive apparatus for 


Small Electrical Hydrogen Generator 

A small hydrogen generator may be 
made from a fruit jar, A (see sketch), 
with two tubes, B and C, soldered in 
the top. The plates E can be made of 
tin or galvanized iron, and should be 
separated about % in* by small pieces 
of wood. One of these plates is con¬ 
nected to metal top, and the wire from 
the other passes through the tube B, 
which is filled with melted rosin or 



Wireless telegraphy by which I have 
had no difficulty in sending messages 
across 1% miles of water surface. It is 
so simple that the cuts scarcely need 
explanation. In Fig. 1 is seen the send¬ 
ing apparatus, consisting of a 40-cell 
battery connected with two copper 
plates 36 by 36 by % in. The plates 
are separated 6 in. by a piece of hard 
rubber at each end. 

In Fig. 2 are seen duplicates of 
these insulated plates, connected with 
an ordinary telephone receiver. With 
this receiver I can hear distinctly the 
electric signals made by closing and 
opening the Morse key in Fig. 1, and I 
believe that in a short time I shall be 
able to perfect this system so as to 
send wireless messages over long dis¬ 
tances.—Contributed by Dudley H. 
Cohen, New York. 


CTo prevent water colors from crawl¬ 
ing, add a few drops of ammonia or 
lime water, or a solution of sal soda. 


wax, to make it airtight. This wire 
connects to one side of a battery of two 
cells, the other wire being soldered to 
the metal top of the jar, as shown. The 
jar is partly filled with a very dilute 
solution of sulphuric acid, about 1 part 
of acid to 20 of water. 

When the current of electricity 
passes between the plates E, hydrogen 
gas is generated, which rises and passes 
through the rubber hose D, into the 
receiver G. This is a wide-mouth bot¬ 
tle, which is filled with water and in¬ 
verted over a pan of water, F. The gas 



Hydrogen Generator 











































55 


bubbling up displaces the water and 
fills the bottle. 

If the receiver is removed when half 
full of gas, the remaining space will be 
filled with air, which will mix with the 
gas and form an explosive mixture. If 
a lighted match is then held near the 
mouth of the bottle a sharp report will 
be heard. 

If the bottle is fitted with a cork 
containing two wires nearly touching, 
and the apparatus connected with an 
induction coil, in such a manner that a 
spark will be produced inside the bot¬ 
tle, the explosion will blow out the cork 
or possibly break the bottle. Caution 
should be used to avoid being struck 
by pieces of flying glass if this experi¬ 
ment is tried, and under no condition 
should a lighted match or spark be 
brought near the end of the rubber 
hose D, as the presence of a little air 
in the generator will make an explosive 
mixture which would probably break 
the jar. 


Gasoline Burner for Model Work 

When making a small model trac¬ 
tion engine or a locomotive the ques¬ 
tion arises, “What shall the fuel be?” 
If you have decided to use gasoline, 
then a suitable burner is necessary. 
A piece of bra»ss tubing about 3 in. in 
diameter and 6 in. long with caps 
screwed on both ends and fitted with a 
filling plug and a bicycle valve makes 
a good gasoline supply tank, says the 
Model Engineer, London. The bicycle 
valve is used to give the tank an air 
pressure which forces the gasoline to 
the burner. 

The burner is made from a piece of 
brass tube, A, as is shown in the illus¬ 
tration, % in. in diameter and 2% in. 
long, which is plugged up at both ends, 
one end being drilled and reamed out 
to i 5 $- in. Three rows of holes t\ in. in 
diameter are drilled in the brass tube. 
One row is drilled to come directly on 
top, and the other two at about 45° from 
the vertical. It is then fitted to a sheet- 
steel base, B, by means of the clips, 
C C, Fig. 1. A piece of %-in. copper 


pipe, P, is then coiled around the brass 
tube, A, which forms the vaporizing 
coil. This coil should have a diameter 



of only 1 in. One end of the copper 
tube is bent around so it will point di¬ 
rectly into the reamed-out hole in the 
end of the brass tube, A. A nipple, N, 
is made by drilling a %-in. hole half¬ 
way through a piece of brass and tap¬ 
ping to screw on the end of the %-in. 
copper pipe. A 1/64-in. hole is then 
drilled through the remaining part of 
the nipple. The other end of the cop¬ 
per tube is connected to the supply 
tank. The distance between the nip¬ 
ple, N, and the ends of the tube, A, 
should be only i 5 ^ of an inch. Fig. 2 
shows the end view. 


A Homemade Telephone Receiver 

A telephone receiver that will do 
good work may be built very cheaply 
as follows: For the case use an ordi¬ 
nary %-lb. baking-powder box with a 
piece of heavy wire 
soldered on the in¬ 
side, lffr in. from the 
bottom. For the mag¬ 
net use a piece of 
round hardened steel 
about % in. in diam¬ 
eter and 1% in. long. 
If desired, a piece of 
an old round file may 
be used for the mag¬ 
net core, which should 
be magnetized previ¬ 
ous to assembling, 
either by passing a current of electric¬ 
ity around it, or by direct contact with 
another magnet. The steel core 
should be wound with about 250 ft. of 
No. 36 insulated wire, the ends of 
which should be soldered to a piece of 
















































56 


lamp cord, passed through a hole in 
the bottom of the can and knotted in¬ 
side to prevent pulling out. 

A disk of thin sheet-iron, such as is 
used by photographers for tintypes 
(Ferrotype), should be cut to the di¬ 
ameter of the can, taking care not to 
bend the iron. The magnet should 
then be placed in the bottom of the 
can in an upright position and enough 
of a melted mixture of beeswax and 
resin poured in to hold it in position. 

While the wax is still in a plastic 
condition the magnet should be located 
centrally and adjusted so that the end 
will be iV in. or less below the level 
of the top of the copper ring. 

After the wax has hardened the disk 
is slipped in and fastened tightly by a 
ring of solder when the instrument is 
ready for use. 


How to Bind Magazines 

An easy way to bind Popular Me¬ 
chanics in volumes of six months each 
is to arrange the magazines in order 
and tie them securely both ways with 
a strong cord. It is well to 
put two or three sheets of 
tough white paper, cut to 
the size of the pages, at the 
front and back for fly leaves. 

Clamp the whole in a vise 
or clamp with two strips of 
wood even with the back 
edges of the magazines. 

With a sharp saw cut a slit 
in the magazines and wood 
strips about % in. deep and 
slanting as shown at A and 
B, Fig. 1. Take two strips 
of stout cloth, about 8 or 10 
in. long and as wide as the 
distance between the bot¬ 
toms- of the sawed slits. Lay these 
over the back edge of the pack and tie 
securely through the slits with a string 
thread—wrapping and tying several 
times (C, Fig. 2). 

If you have access to a printer’s 
paper knife, trim both ends and the 
front edge; this makes a much nicer 
book, but if the paper knife cannot be 


used, clamp the whole between two 
boards and saw off the edges, boards 
and all, smoothly, with a fine saw. 

Cut four pieces of cardboard, % in. 
longer and ^4 in* narrower than the 
magazines after they have been 
trimmed. Lay one piece of the board 
on the book and under the cloth strips. 
Use ordinary flour paste and paste the 
strips to the cardboard and then rub 
paste all over the top of the strips and 
the board. Rub paste over one side of 
another piece of board and put it on 
top of the first board and strips, press¬ 
ing down firmly so that the strips are 
held securely between the two boards. 
Turn the book over and do the same 
with the other two boards. 

After the paste has dried a few 
minutes take a piece of strong cloth, 
duck or linen, fold and cut it 1 in. 
larger all around than the book, leav¬ 
ing the folded edge uncut. Rub paste 
over one of the board backs and lay 
one end of the cloth on it, smoothing 
and creasing as shown at A, Fig. 3. 
Turn the book over and paste the other 
side. The back edges should have a 
good coat of paste and a strip of paper 


the width of the thickness of the pack 
pasted on before pasting the cloth to 
the second board back. 

Cut off the corners and fold over 
the edges of the cloth, pasting them 
down (Fig. 4). Rub paste on one side 
of a fly leaf and press the back down 
on it. Turn the book over and paste 
a fly leaf to the other back after the 

















57 


edges of the cloth have been folded 
down. The backs must not be opened 
until the fly leaves are thoroughly dry. 
Trim and tuck in the ends of the strip 
at the back edge. 

When fixed this way your magazines 
make one of the most valuable vol¬ 
umes you can possibly add to your 
library of mechanical books.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Joseph N. Parker, Bedford 
City, Va. 

A Homemade Acetylene-Gas 
Generator 

A simple acetylene-gas generator 
used by myself for several years when 
out on camping 
trips was made 
of a galvanized- 
iron tank, with¬ 
out a head, 18 in. 
in diameter and 30 
in. deep, B, as 
shown in the 
sketch. Another 
tank, A, is made 
the same depth as 
B, but its diame¬ 
ter is a little smaller, so that inverted 
it will just slip easily into the tank B. 
In the bottom, or rather the top now, 
of tank A is cut a hole, and a little can, 
D, is fitted in it and soldered. On top 
and over can D is soldered a large tin 
can screw. A rubber washer is fitted 
on this so that when the screw top, E, 
is turned on it, the joint will be gas- 
tight. Another can, C, which will just 
slip inside the little can, is perforated 
with a number of holes. This can C 
is filled about half full of broken pieces 
of carbide and then placed in the little 
can D. A gas cock, H, is soldered onto 
tank A, as shown, from which the gas 
may be taken through a rubber tube. 
Fill tank B with water and set tank A 
into it. This will cause some air to 
be inclosed, which can be released by 
leaving the cock open until tank A 
settles down to the point where the 
water will begin to run in the perfora¬ 
tions of the little tank. The water 
then comes in contact with the carbide 



and forms gas, which expands and 
stops the lowering of tank A. Then the 
cock must be closed and tubing at¬ 
tached. It is dangerous to attempt to 
strike a match to light a jet or the end 
of the cock while air is escaping and 
just as the first gas is being made. 
Wait until the tank is well raised up 
before doing this.—Contributed by 
James E. Noble, Toronto, Ont. 


Homemade Annunciator 


When one electric bell is operated 
from two push-buttons it is impossible 
to tell which of the two push-buttons 
is being operated unless an annuncia¬ 
tor or similar device is used. A very 
simple annunciator for indicating two 
numbers can be made from a small box, 
Fig. 1, with an electric-bell magnet, 
A, fastened in the bottom. The arma¬ 
ture, B, is pivoted in the center by 
means of a small piece of wire and has 
an indicator or hand, C, which moves 
to either right or left, depending on 
which half of the magnet is magnet¬ 
ized. If the back armature, D, of the 
magnet is removed the moving arma¬ 
ture will work better, as this will pre¬ 
vent the magnetism from acting on 
both ends of the armature. 

The wiring diagram, Fig. 2, shows 
how the connections are to be made. 
If the push-button A is closed, the bell 
will ring and the pointer will point at 



Annunciator and Winner Diaerram 


1, while the closing of the push-button 
B will ring the bell and move the 
pointer to 2.—Contributed by H. S. 
Bott, Beverly, N. J. 
















































58 


How to Make a Box Kite 

As some of the readers of Amateur 
Mechanics may desire to build a box 
kite, a simple method of constructing 
one of the modern type is given in de¬ 
tail as follows: The sticks 
should be made of straight- 
grained wood, which may 
be either spruce, basswood 
or white pine. The longi¬ 
tudinal corner spines, A A, 
should be % in. square by 
42 in. long, and the four di¬ 
agonal struts, B,. should 
be % in. by % in., and 
about 26 in. long. Two 
cloth bands should be made 
to the exact dimensions 
given in the sketch and 
fastened to the four longi¬ 
tudinal sticks with 1-oz. 
tacks. It is well to mark 
the positions of the sticks 
on the cloth bands, either 
with a soft lead-pencil or 
crayon, in order to have 
the four sides of each band 
exactly equal. The ends of 
the bands should be lapped 
over at least % in. and 
sewed double to give extra 
strength, and the edges should be care¬ 
fully hemmed, making the width, when 
finished, exactly 12 in. Probably the 
best cloth for this purpose is nainsook, 
although lonsdale cambric or light¬ 
weight percaline will answer nearly as 
well. 

The diagonal struts, B, should be 
cut a little too long, so that they will 
be slightly bowed when put in posi¬ 
tion, thus holding the cloth out taut 
and flat. They should be tied to¬ 
gether at the points of intersection 
and the ends should be wound with 
coarse harnessmaker’s thread, as shown 
at C, to prevent splitting. The small 
guards, D, are nailed or glued to the 
longitudinal sticks to prevent the struts 
slipping out of position. Of course the 
ends of the struts could be fastened to 
the longitudinal strips if desired, but if 
made as described the kite may be read¬ 


ily taken apart and rolled up for con¬ 
venience in carrying. 

The bridle knots, E, are shown in 
detail at H and J. H is a square knot, 
which may be easily loosened and 


shifted to a different position on the 
bridle, thus adjusting the lengths of F 
and G. A bowline knot should be tied 
at J, as shown, to prevent slipping. If 
the kite is used in a light wind, loosen 
the square knot and shift nearer to G, 
thus shortening G and lengthening F, 
and if a strong wind is blowing, shift 
toward F, thereby lengthening G and 
making F shorter. In a very strong 
wind do not use the bridle, but fasten 
a string securely to the stick at K.— 
Contributed by Edw. E. Harbert, 
Chicago. _ 

CAn experienced photographer uses 
blacklead for grooves about a camera 
or holder. A small quantity is rubbed 
well into the grooves and on the edges 
of shutters, that refuse to slide easily, 
with gratifying results. Care must be 
taken to allow no dust to settle in the 
holders, however. 







59 


Simple Open-Circuit Telegraph Line 

By using the circuit shown in the 
sketch for short-distance telegraph 
lines, the extra switches and wiring 
found in many circuits are done away 
with. Closing either key will operate 
both sounders, and, as the resistance of 


founder 

1-1 

Sounder 

1-1 


PT 

“ A «*» 


T V _ 

? T 



Simple Telegraph Line 


the sounders is very high, the batteries 
do not run down for a long time.—Con¬ 
tributed by A. D. Stoddard, Clay Cen¬ 
ter, Kan. 


How to Make a Thermo Battery 

A thermo battery, for producing 
electricity direct from heat, can be 
made of a wooden frame, A, with a 
number of nails, B, driven in the 
vertical piece and connected in series 
with heavy copper wires, C. The 
connections should all be soldered to 
give good results, as the voltage is 



cohol lamp or other device, and the 
current may then be detected by means 
of a simple galvanometer consisting 
of a square spool of No. 14 or No. 16 
single-covered wire, E, with a pocket 
compass, F, placed on top. Turn the 
spool in a north and south direction, 
or parallel with the compass needle. 
Then, when the nail heads are heated 
and the circuit completed, the needle 
will swing around it at right angles 
to the coils of wire. Applying ice or 
cold water to the nail heads will reverse 
the current.—Contributed by A. C. A., 
Chicago. 


How to Discharge a Toy Cannon 
by Electricity 

A device for discharging a toy can¬ 
non by electricity can be easily made 
by using three or four dry batteries, 
a switch and a small induction coil 



Electrical Attachment for Discharging Toy Cannon 


capable of giving a %-in. spark. 
Fasten a piece of wood, A, to the can¬ 
non, by means of machine screws or, 
if there are no trunnions on the can¬ 
non, the wood may be made in the 
shape of a ring and slipped on over 
the muzzle. The fuse hole of the 
cannon is counterbored as shown and 
a small hole is drilled at one side to 
receive a small piece of copper wire, E. 
The wood screw, C, nearly touches E 
and is connected to one binding post 
of the induction coil. The other bind¬ 
ing post is connected with the wood 
screw, D, which conducts the current 
into the cannon, and also holds the 
pieces of wood, A and B, in position. 

When the cannon is loaded, a small 
quantity of powder is placed in the 
counterbore, and the spark between C 
and E ignites this and discharges the 



























60 


cannon. A cannon may be fired from 
a distance in this way, and as there 
is no danger of v any spark remaining 
after the current is shut off, it is safer 
than the ordinary cannon which is 
fired by means of a fuse.—Contributed 
by Henry Peck, Big Rapids, Mich. 


Simple Electric Lock 

The illustration shows an automatic 
lock operated by electricity, requiring 
a strong magnet, but no weights or 
strings, which greatly simplifies the 
device over many others of the kind. 



The weight of the long arm, L, is 
just a trifle greater than the combined 
weights of the short arms, A and S. 
The fulcrum of the lever is at C, where 
there is a staple. The lever swings 
on one arm of the staple and the other 
arm is so placed that when the lever 
is in an upright position, with the long 
arm at L', it will not fall because of 
its greater weight but stays in the 
position shown. The purpose of this 
is to leave the short arm, A, when in 
position at A', within the reach of the 
magnet. Arm L rests on an L-shaped 
hook, H; in this position the door is 
locked. 

To unlock the door, press the button, 
B. The momentum acquired from the 
magnet by the short arms, A and S, is 
sufficient to move the long arm up to 
the position of L'. To lock the door, 


press the button and the momentum 
acquired from the magnet by the short 
arms, now at A' and S', is sufficient to 
move the long arm down from L' to 
the position at L.—Contributed by 
Benjamin Kubelsky, Chicago. 

Direct-Connected Reverse for Small 
Motors 

A simple reverse for small motors 
can be attached directly to the motor 
as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 shows the 
construction of the reverse block: A 
is a strip of walnut % in. square and 
% in. thick with strips of brass or cop¬ 
per (BB) attached as shown. Holes 
(CC) are drilled for the wire connec¬ 
tions and they must be flush with the 
surface of the block. A hole for a %- 
in. screw is bored in the block. In Fig. 
1, D is a thin strip of walnut or other 
dense, hard wood fitted to the binding 
posts of the brush holders, to receive 
the screw in the center. 

Before putting the reverse block on 
the motor, remove all the connections 
between the lower binding posts and 
the brush holders and connect both 
ends of the field coil to the lower posts. 
Bend the strips BB (Fig. 2) to the 
proper position to make a wiping con¬ 
tact with the nuts holding the strip of 
wood D, Fig. 1. Put the screw in tight 

























































61 


enough to make the block turn a little 
hard. Connect as shown in the illus¬ 
tration. To reverse, turn the block so 
the strips change connections and the 
motor will do the rest.—Contributed by- 
Joseph B. Keil, Marion, Ohio. 


A Handy Ice Chisel 

Fishing through the ice is great 
sport, but cutting the first holes pre¬ 
paratory to setting the lines is not 
always an easy task. The ice chisel 
here described will be found very 
handy, and may be made at very 
slight expense. 

In the top of an old ax-head drill a 
iVin. hole, and then tap it for a %-in. 
gas-pipe, about 18 in. long. Thread 
the other end of the pipe, and screw on 



Combination Ax and Ice Chisel 


an old snow-shovel handle. When 
ready for use, screw the two pieces 
together and you have your chisel 
complete. 

A short ax-handle may be included 
in the outfit. When the holes are fin¬ 
ished and your lines set, unscrew the 
pipe from the head of the ax, put in 
the handle, and your ax is ready to cut 
the wood to keep your fire going.— 
Contributed by C. J. Rand, West Som¬ 
erville, Mass. 


More Uses for Pipe Fittings 

It would seem that the number of 
useful articles that can be made from 
pipes and fittings is unlimited. The 
sketch shows two more that may be 
added to the list. A and B are front 
and side views of a lamp-screen, and 
C is a dumbbell. The lamp-shade is 
particularly useful for shading the 
eyes when reading or writing and, if 
enameled white on the concave side, 
makes an excellent reflector for draw¬ 
ing at night, or for microscopic work. 


The standard and base, consisting 
of an ordinary pipe flange bushed down 
to receive the upright nipple, are enam¬ 
eled a jet black, and if the device is to 
be used on a polished table, a piece of 



Lamp Shade and Dumbbell 


felt should be glued to the bottom. 
A good way to hold the fan in the 
nipple is to use a small wedge. 

The dumbbells are made of short 
pieces of %-in. pipe with 1%-im coup¬ 
lings fastened to each end by pouring 
melted lead in the space between the 
pipes and the couplings. The appear¬ 
ance is greatly improved by enameling 
black, and if desired the handles may 
be covered with leather.—Contributed 
by C. E. Warren, M. D., North Easton, 
Mass. 


Sealing-Wax Bent While Cold 

If a piece of sealing-wax is supported 
in a horizontal position by one end, as 
shown at A in the sketch, it will grad¬ 
ually bend to the shape indicated by 
the dotted lines B. To attempt bend¬ 
ing it with the hands would result in 
breaking it unless a steady pressure 
were applied for a long time. This pe¬ 
culiar property is also found in ice. 



Bending: Cold Sealing-Wax 






















62 


Homemade Pottery Kiln 

A small kiln for baking clay figures 
may be built at a cost of $1. The fol¬ 
lowing shows the general plan of such 
a kiln which has stood the test of 200 
firings, and which is good for any work 
requiring less than 1400° C. 

Get an iron pail about 1 ft. high by 
1 ft. across, with a cover. Any old 
pail which is thick enough will ddC 
while a new one will cost about 80 
cents. In the bottom of this cut a 2-in. 
round hole and close it with a cork or 
wood plug, A, Fig. 1, which shall pro¬ 
ject at least 2 in. inside the pail. Make 
a cylindrical core of wood, B, Fig. 1, 
8 in. long and 8 in. across. Make a 



mixture of clay, 60% ; sand, 15%; and 
graphite, 25%, kneading thoroughly in 
water to a good molding consistency. 
Line the pail, bottom and sides, with 
heavy paper and cover the core with 
same. Now pack the bottom of the 
pail thoroughly with a 2-in. layer of the 
clay mixture, and on it set the paper- 
wrapped core, carefully centering it. 
The 2 in. of space between the core and 
the sides of the pail all around is to be 
filled with clay, C, as is shown in the 
sketch, using a little at a time and 
packing it very tight. In like manner 
make the cover of the kiln, cutting the 
hole a little smaller, about 1 in. At the 
edge or rim of the cover encircle a 2-in. 
strip of sheet iron, E, Fig. 2, to hold 
the clay mixture, C. Set aside for a 
few days until well dried. 

While these are drying you may be 
making a muffle, if there is to be any 


glazing done. This is a clay cylinder 
(Fig. 3) with false top and bottom, in 
which the pottery to be glazed is pro¬ 
tected from any smoke or dust. It is 
placed inside the kiln, setting on any 
convenient blocks which will place it 
midway. The walls of the muffle 
should be about % in. thick, and the 
dimensions should allow at least 1 in. 
of space all around for the passage of 
heat between it and the walls of the 
kiln. By the time the clay of the kiln 
is well dried, it will be found that it 
has all shrunk away from the iron 
about % in. After removing all the 
paper, pack this space—top, bottom 
and sides—with moist ground asbestos. 
If the cover of the pail has no rim, it 
may be fastened to the asbestos and 
clay lining by punching a few holes, 
passing wire nails through and clinch¬ 
ing them. Fit all the parts together 
snugly, take out the plugs in the top 
and bottom, and your kiln is ready for 
business. The handle of the pail will 
be convenient for moving it about, and 
it can be set on three bricks or some 
more elaborate support, as dictated by 
fancy and expense. 

The temperature required for bak¬ 
ing earthenware is 1250°-1310°, C.; 
hotel china, 1330°; hard porcelain, 
1390°-1410°. These temperatures can 
not be obtained in the above kiln by 
means of the ordinary Bunsen burner. 
It will be necessary either to buy the 
largest size Bunsen, or make one your¬ 
self, if you have the materials. If you 
can get a cone which can be screwed 
into an inch pipe, file the opening of 
the cone to xV in. diameter, and jacket 
the whole with a 2V2-in. pipe. The 
flame end of this burner tube should 
be about 4% in. above the cone opening 
and should be covered with gauze to 
prevent flame from snapping back. 
When lighted, the point of the blue 
flame, which is the hottest part, should 
be just in the hole in the bottom of the 
kiln. Such a burner will be cheaply 
made and will furnish a kiln tem¬ 
perature of 1400°, but it will burn a 
great deal of gas. 













63 


A plumber’s torch of medium size 
will cost more in the beginning, but 
will be cheaper in operation. What¬ 
ever burner is used, the firing should 
be gradual, and with especial caution 
the first time. By experiment you will 
find that a higher temperature is ob¬ 
tained by placing a 1-in. pipe 2 ft. 
long over the lid hole as a chimney. 
It would be still more effective to get 
another iron pail, 2 in. wider than the 
kiln, and get a down draft by inverting 
it over the kiln at whatever height 
proves most suitable.—G. L. W. 


How to Make a Small Medical 


as used on telephone generators, 
around the coil, leaving long terminals. 
Soak the whole in melted paraffin and 
let cool; bind tightly with black silk. 

The vibrator is made of a piece of 
thin tin to which is soldered the head 
of an iron screw and on the other side 
a small piece of platinum, which can 
be taken from an old electric bell 
■%(Fig. 2). 

* Of course, a regulator must be had 
for the vibrator; this can be accom¬ 
plished by bending a stout piece of 
copper wire as shown. The connec¬ 
tions and the base for setting up are 
shown in the figures.—Contributed by 
J. T. R., Washington, D. C. 


Induction Coil 

The coil to be described is 3% in., 
full length of iron core, and % in. in 
diameter. 

Procure a bundle of small iron wire, 
say x /4 in. in diameter, and cut it 3% 
in. long; bind neatly with coarse thread 
and file the ends smooth (Fig. 1). 
This done, make two wood ends, l 1 /^ 
by iy 4 in. and % in. thick, and varnish. 
Bore holes in the center of each so the 
core will fit in snugly and leave about 
% in. projecting from each end (Fig. 1). 

After finishing the core, shellac two 
layers of thick paper over it between 
the ends; let this dry thoroughly. 
Wind two layers of bell magnet wire 
over this, allowing several inches of 
free wire to come through a hole in the 
end. Cover with paper and shellac as 

before. „ . , 

Wind about % in. of fine wire, such 


Mechanical Trick With Cards 

The following mechanical card trick 
is easy to prepare and simple to per¬ 
form: # 

First, procure a new deck, and divide 
it into two piles, one containing the 
red cards and the other the black ones, 
all cards facing the same way. Take 
the red cards, square them up and place 
in a vise. Then, with a plane, plane off 
the upper right hand corner and lower 
left hand corner, as in Fig. 1, about 

■h i n * 

Then take the black cards, square 
them up, and plane off about in. on 
the upper left hand corner and lower 
right hand corner, as in Fig. 2. 

Next restore all the cards to one 
pack, taking care to have the first card 
red, the next black, and so on, every 
alternate card being the same color. 



Medical Induction Coil 




















64 


Bend the pack so as to give some 
spring to the cards, and by holding one 
thumb on the upper left-hand corner 



all the cards will appear red to the 
audience; place thumb in the center 
at top of pack and they will appear 
mixed, red and black; with thumb on 
upper right-hand corner all cards ap¬ 
pear black. You can display either 
color called for.—Contributed by 
Ralph Gingrich, Chicago. 


How to Make a Rain Gauge 

An accurate rain gauge may be 
easily constructed from galvanized 
iron, as shown in the sketch herewith. 

The funnel, A, over¬ 
laps and rests on the 
body, B, and dis¬ 
charges into the 
tube, C, the area of 
which is one-tenth 
that of the top of the 
funnel. The depth 
of the water in C is 
thus ten times the 
actual rainfall, so 
that by measuring 
it with a stick 
marked off in tenths 
of an inch, we obtain 
the result in hun¬ 
dredths of an inch. 

A good size to 
make the rain gauge 
is as follows: A, 8 
in. diameter; C, 2.53 
in.; length of C, 
about 20 in. It 
should be placed in an exposed loca¬ 
tion, so that no inaccuracy will occur 
from wind currents. To find the 
fall of snow, pour a known quantity 


of warm water on the snow contained 
in the funnel and deduct the quantity 
poured in from the total amount in 
the tube.—Contributed by Thurston 
Hendrickson, Long Branch, N. J. 


How to Make an Aquarium 

In making an aquarium, the first 
thing to decide on is the size. It is well 
not to attempt building a very large 
one, as the difficulties increase with the 
size. A good size is 12 by 12 by 20 in., 
and this is inexpensive to build. 

First buy one length of % by %-in. 
angle iron for the frame, F, Fig. 1. 
This can be obtained at any steel shop 
and should cost about 20 cents. All 
the horizontal pieces, B, should be 
beveled 45° at the ends and drilled for 
iVin. stove bolts. The beveling may 
be done by roughing out with a hack¬ 
saw and finishing with a file. After 
all the pieces are cut and beveled they 
should be drilled at the ends for the 
iVin. stove bolts, C. Drill all the hori¬ 
zontal pieces, B, first and then mark the 
holes on the upright pieces, A, through 
the holes already drilled, thus making 
all the holes coincide. Mark the ends 
of each piece with a figure or letter, 
so that when they are assembled, the 
same ends will come together again. 
The upright pieces, A, should be coun¬ 
tersunk as shown in the detail, and 
then the frame is ready to assemble. 

After the frame has been assembled 
take it to glazier and have a bottom 
made of skylight glass, and sides and 
ends of double-thick window glass. The 
bottom glass should be a good fit, but 
the sides and ends should be made 
slightly shorter to allow the cement, 
E, to form a dovetail joint as shown. 
When the glass is put in the frame a 
space, D, will be found between the 
glass and the horizontal pieces, B, of 
the frame. If this were allowed to re¬ 
main the pressure of the water would 
spring the glass and cause a leak at E; 
so it is filled up with plaster of paris. 

The cement, E, is made as follows: 
Take 1 gill of plaster of paris, 1 gill of 
litharge, 1 gill of fine white sand, and 


























































65 


% of a gill of finely powdered rosin. 
Mix well and add boiled linseed oil and 
turpentine until as thick as putty. Let 



the cement dry three or four days be¬ 
fore putting any water in the aquarium. 

In choosing stock for the aquarium 
it should be remembered that a suffi¬ 
cient quantity of vegetable life is re¬ 
quired to furnish oxygen for the fish. 
In a well balanced aquarium the water 
requires renewal only two or three 
times a year. It is well to have an 
excess of plants and a number of snails, 
as the snails will devour all the decay¬ 
ing vegetable matter which would 
otherwise poison the water and kill 
the fish. 



If desired, a centerpiece (A, Fig. 2) 
can be made of colored stones held to¬ 
gether by cement, and an inverted jar 


can be supported in the position shown 
at B. If the mouth of the jar is below 
the surface of the water it will stay 
filled and allow the fish to swim up in¬ 
side as shown. Some washed pebbles 
or gravel should be placed on the bot¬ 
tom, and, if desired, a few Chinese 
lilies or other plants may be placed on 
the centerpiece. 


Homemade Pneumatic Lock 

Mount an old bicycle hand-pump, A, 
on the door by means of a metal plate, 
B, having a swinging connection at C. 
Fasten the lever, D, to the door knob, 
and make a hinge connection with the 
pump by means of a piece of sheet 



brass, E, soldered to the end of the 
cylinder. All this apparatus is on the 
inside of the door and is connected by 
a small rubber tube, F, to a secret 
mouthpiece placed at some convenient 
location. A small piece of spring brass, 
screwed to the door frame, will open 
the door about % in. when the operator 
blows in the mouthpiece, or if the door 
is within reach of the mouthpiece, the 
operator may push the door at the 
same time that he blows, thus doing 
away with the spring, which is only 
used to keep the door from relocking. 

One way of making the air connec¬ 
tion with the outside is to bend the 
tube F around and stick it through 
the keyhole. Few burglars would 
ever think to blow in the keyhole.— 
Contributed by Orton E. White, Buf¬ 
falo, N. Y. 

























































66 


A Homemade Water Motor 

By MRS. PAUL S. WINTER 


In these days of modern improve¬ 
ments, most houses are equipped with 
a washing-machine, and the question 
that arises in the mind of the house¬ 
holder is how to furnish 
the power to run it eco¬ 
nomically. I referred this 
question to my husband, 
with the result that he built 
a motor which proved so 
very satisfactory that I 
prevailed upon him to give 
the readers of Amateur 
Mechanics a description of 
it, hoping it may solve the 
same question for them. 

A motor of this type will 
develop about V 2 hp. with a 
water pressure of 70 lb. 

The power developed is 
correspondingly increased 
or decreased as the press¬ 
ure exceeds or falls below 
this. In the latter case the 
power may be increased by 
using a smaller pulley. 

Fig. 1 is the motor 
with one side removed, showing the 
paddle-wheel in position; Fig. 2 is an 
end view; Fig. 3 shows one of the pad¬ 
dles, and Fig. 4 shows the method 
of shaping the paddles. To make 
the frame, several lengths of scantling 
3 in. wide by 1 in. thick (preferably of 
hard wood) are required. Cut two of 
them 4 ft. long, to form the main sup¬ 
ports of the frame, AA, Fig. 1; another, 
2 ft. 6 in. long, for the top, B, Fig. 1; 
another, 26 in. long, to form the slant¬ 
ing part, C, Fig. 1; and another, D, ap¬ 
proximately 1 ft., according to the slant 
given C. After nailing these together 
as shown in the illustration, nail two 
short strips on each side of the outlet, 
as at E, to keep the frame from spread¬ 
ing. 

Cut two pieces 30 in. long. Lay 
these on the sides of the frame with 
their center lines along the line FF, 
which is 15 in. from the outside top 


of the frame. They are shown in Fig. 2 
at GG. Do not fasten these boards 
now, but mark their position on the 
frame. Two short boards 1 in. wide 


by 1 in. thick (HH, Fig. 2) and an¬ 
other 1 in. by 1% in. (I, Fig. 2) form a 
substantial base. 

Cut the wheel from sheet iron fa 
in. thick, 24 in. in diameter. This 
can be done roughly with hammer and 
chisel and then smoothed up on an 
emery wheel, after which cut 24 radial 
slots % in. deep on its circumference 
by means of a hacksaw. On each side 
of the wheel at the center fasten a 
rectangular piece of ^-in. iron 3 by 4 
in. and secure it to the wheel by means 
of four rivets; after which drill a %- 
in. hole through the exact center of 
the wheel. 

Cut 24 pieces of 1/32-in. iron, 1% 
by 2% in. These are the paddles. 
Shape them by placing one end over a 
section of 1-in. pipe, and hammer bowl¬ 
shaped with the peen of a hammer, as 
shown in Fig. 4. Then cut them into 
the shape shown in Fig. 3 and bend 



































67 


the tapered end in along the lines JJ, 
after which place them in the slots 
of the wheel and bend the sides over to 
clamp the wheel. Drill %-in. holes 
through the wheel and sides of the pad¬ 
dles and rivet paddles in place. Next 
secure a %-in. steel shaft 12 in. long 
to the wheel about 8 in. from one 
end by means of a key. This is done 
by cutting a groove in the shaft and a 
corresponding groove in the wheel and 
fitting in a piece of metal in order to 
secure the wheel from turning inde¬ 
pendently of the shaft. Procure two 
collars or round pieces of brass (KK, 
Fig. 2) with a %-in. hole through them, 
and fasten these to the shaft by means 
of set screws to prevent it from 
moving lengthwise. 

Make the nozzle by taking a piece of 
%-in. galvanized pipe 3% in. long and 
filling it with babbitt metal; then drill 
a T 3 6 _ i n - hole through its center. Make 
this hole conical, tapering from in. 
to a full % in. This is best done by 
using a square taper reamer. Then 
place the nozzle in the position shown 
in Fig. 1, which allows the stream of 
water to strike the buckets full in the 
center when they reach the position 
farthest to the right. 

Take the side pieces, GG, and drill 
a 1-in. hole through their sides cen¬ 
trally, and a %-in. hole from the tops 
to the 1-in. holes. Fasten them in 
their proper position, with the wheel 
and shaft in place, the shaft project¬ 
ing through the holes just mentioned. 
Now block the wheel; that is, fasten 
it by means of wedges or blocks of 
wood until the shaft is exactly in the 
center of the inch holes in the side 
pieces. Cut four disks of cardboard to 
slip over the shaft and large enough 
to cover the inch holes. Two of these 
are to be inside and two outside of 
the frames (one to bear against each 
side of each crosspiece). Fasten these 
to the crosspieces by means of tacks 
to hold them securely. Pour melted 
babbitt metal into the %-in. hole to 
form the bearings. When it has 
cooled, remove the cardboard, take 
down the crosspieces, and drill a %-in. 


hole from the top of the crosspieces 
through the babbitt for an oil-hole. 

Secure sufficient sheet zinc to cover 
the sides of the frame. Cut the zinc 
to the same shape as the frame and 
let it extend down to the crosspieces 
EE. Tack one side on. (It is well to 
tack strips of heavy cloth—burlap will 
do—along the edges under the zinc to 
form a water-tight joint.) Fasten the 
crosspiece over the zinc in its proper 
position. Drill a hole through the 
zinc, using the hole in the crosspiece 
as a guide. Then put the wheel in a 
central position in the frame, tack the 
other side piece of zinc in place and 
put the other crosspiece in place. Place 
the two collars mentioned before on the 
shaft, and fasten so as to bear against 
the crosspieces, in order to prevent the 
wheel and shaft from moving sidewise. 
If the bearings are now oiled, the shaft 
should turn easily and smoothly. 
Fasten a pulley 4 or 6 in. in diameter 
to the longest arm of the shaft. 

Connect the nozzle to a water faucet 
by means of a piece of hose; place the 
outlet over a drain, and belt the motor 
direct to the washing-machine, sewing- 
machine, ice-cream freezer, drill press, 
dynamo or any other machinery re¬ 
quiring not more than % hp. 

This motor has been in use in our 
house for two years in all of the above 
ways, and has never once failed to give 
perfect satisfaction. It is obvious that, 
had the wheel and paddles been made 
of brass, it would be more durable, but 
as it would have cost several times as 
much, it is a question whether it would 
be more economical in the end. If 
sheet-iron is used, a coat of heavy paint 
would prevent rust and therefore pro¬ 
long the life of the motor. The motor 
will soon pay for itself in the saving 
of laundry bills. We used to spend 
$1 a month to have just my hus¬ 
band’s overalls done at the laundry, 
but now I put them in the machine, 
start the motor, and leave them for an 
hour or so. At the end of this time 
they are perfectly clean, and I have 
noticed that they wear twice as long 
as when I sent them to the laundry. 


68 


How to Make Silhouettes 

Photography in all branches is truly 
a most absorbing occupation. Each of 
us who has a camera is constantly 
experimenting, and 
every one of us is 
delighted when 
something new is 
suggested for such 
experiments. 

To use a camera 
in making silhou¬ 
ettes select a win¬ 
dow facing north if 
possible, or if used 
only at times when 
the sun is not on it, 
any window will do, 
says the Photo¬ 
graphic Times. Raise the window 
shade half way, remove any white cur¬ 
tains there may be, and in the center 
of the lower pane of glass paste by the 
four corners a sheet of tissue paper 
that is perfectly smooth and quite thick, 
as shown in the sketch at B. Darken 
the rest of the window, shutting out 
all light from above and the sides. 
Place a chair so that after being seated 
the head of the subject will come be¬ 
fore the center of the tissue 
paper, and as near to it as 
possible, and when looking 
straight before him his face 
will be in clear profile to 
the camera. 

Draw the shades of all 
other windows in the 
room. Focus the camera 
carefully, getting a sharp 
outline of the profile on 
the screen. Do not stop 
down the lens, as this 
makes long exposure nec¬ 
essary, and the subject may 
move. 

Correct exposure de¬ 
pends, of course, on the lens, light and 
the plate. But remember that a black 
and white negative is wanted with as 
little detail in the features as possible. 
The best plate to use is a very slow one, 
or what is called a process plate. 


In developing get all possible den¬ 
sity in the high lights, without detail 
in the face, and without fog. Printing 
is best done on contrasty development 
paper with developer not too strong. 

The ideal silhouette print is a per¬ 
fectly black profile on a white ground. 
With a piece of black paper, any shape 
in stopping off print may be made as 
shown at C in the sketch. 


How to Make a Galvanoscope 

A galvanoscope for detecting small 
currents of electricity can be made 
from a coil of wire, A; a glass tube, B, 
full of water; a core, C; and a base, D, 
with binding posts as shown. The core 
C, which is made of iron and cork, is 
a trifle lighter than the water it dis¬ 
places and will therefore normally re¬ 
main in the top of the tube; but as 
soon as a current of electricity passes 
through the coil, the core is drawn 
down out of sight. The current re¬ 
quired is very small, as the core'is so 
nearly balanced that the least attrac¬ 
tion will cause it to sink. 

The glass tube may be a test tube, 
as shown in Fig. 2, or an empty devel¬ 
oper tube. If one has neither a test 


tube nor developer tube, an empty pill 
bottle may be used. The washers at 
the ends of the coil can be made of 
fiber, hard rubber, or wood; or can be 
taken from an old magnet. The base 
may be made of wood or any other 











69 


insulating material and should have 
four short legs on the bottom. Make 
the coil of single-covered wire about 
No. 18 and connect ends to binding 
posts as shown in Fig. 2. 

The core is made by pushing a small 
nail through a piece of cork. It should 
be made so that it will rise slowly when 
placed under water. Some filing may 
be necessary to get the weight just 
right, but it should be remembered that 
the buoyancy of the core can be ad¬ 
justed after the parts are assembled, by 
pressing the cork in the bottom of the 
test tube. This causes compression 
in the water so that some is forced into 
the upper cork, reducing its displace¬ 
ment and causing it to sink. The lower 
cork is then slowly withdrawn, by 
twisting, until the core slowly rises. 



The instrument will then be adjusted 
ready for use. 


Connect the binding posts to a single 
cell of battery—any kind will do, as a 
slight current will answer. On com¬ 



pleting the circuit the core will de¬ 
scend ; or put in a switch or push 
button on one of the battery wires. If 
the button be concealed where the op¬ 
erator can reach it, the core will obey 
his command to rise or fall, according 
to his control of the current. This is 
a mysterious looking instrument, the 
core being moved without visible con¬ 
nection to any other part. 


GTo lubricate sheet metal mix 1 qt. 
whale oil, 1 lb. white lead, 1 pt. water 
and 3 oz. finest graphite. Apply with 
a brush before the metal enters the 
dies. 


An Optical Top 

One of the latest optical delusions, 
and one not easy to explain, is Ben- 
ham’s color top. Cut out the black and 
white disk shown in the figure, and 
paste on a piece of stiff cardboard. 
Trim the edges of the cardboard to 
match the shape of the disk, and make 
a pinhole in the center. Cut the pin 
in half and push it through from the 
under side until the head of the pin 
touches the cardboard. Spin slowly 
in a strong light and some of the lines 
will appear colored. The colors appear 
different to different people, and are 
changed by reversing the rotation. 




























70 


Card Trick with a Tapered Deck 

Another simple trick to perform but 
one not easily detected, is executed by 
using a tapered deck of cards as shown 
in Fig. 1. A cheap deck of cards is 
evened up square, fastened in a vise 
and planed along the edge in such a 
manner that all the pack will be ta¬ 
pered about xV in. This taper is exag¬ 
gerated in the illustration which shows 



one card that has been turned end for 
end. 

It is evident that any card reversed 
in this way can be easily separated 
from the other cards in the pack, which 
makes it possible to perform the fol¬ 
lowing trick: The performer spreads 
the cards out, fan-like, and asks an 
observer to withdraw a card, which is 
then replaced in any part of the pack. 
After thoroughly shuffling the cards 
the performer then holds the deck in 
both hands behind his back and pro¬ 
nouncing a few magic words, produces 
the card selected in one hand and the 
rest of the pack in the other. This is 
accomplished by simply turning the 
deck end for end while the observer 
is looking at his card, thus bringing 
the wide end of the selected card at 
the narrow end of the pack when it 
is replaced. The hands are placed be¬ 
hind the back for a double purpose, as 
the feat then seems more marvelous 
and the observers are not allowed to 
see how it is done. 

In prize games, players having the 
same score are frequently called upon 
to cut for low to determine which shall 
be the winner, but a fairer way is to 
cut for high as a person familiar with 
tfie trick shown in Fig. 2 can cut the 
cards at the ace, deuce, or three spot, 


nearly every time, especially if the 
deck is a new one. This is done by 
simply pressing on the top of the deck 
as shown, before cutting, thus causing 
the increased ink surface of the high 
cards to adhere to the adjacent ones. 
A little practice will soon enable one 
to cut low nearly every time, but the 
cards must be grasped lightly and the 
experiment should be performed with 
a new deck to obtain successful results. 
—Contributed by D. B. J., Chicago. 

A Constant-Pressure Hydrogen 
Generator 

By fitting three bottles, A, B, C, with 
rubber stoppers and connecting with 
glass tubes as shown in 
the sketch, hydrogen or 
other gases produced in a 
similar manner may be 
generated under constant 
pressure. In making 
hydrogen, bottle B is part¬ 
ly filled with zinc nodules 
formed by slowly pouring 
melted zinc into water. 
Hydrochloric acid is then 
poured in the small fun¬ 
nel, thus partly filling 
bottles A and C. When 
the acid rising from C 
comes in contact with the 
zinc, hydrogen gas is gen¬ 
erated and fills bottle B. 
The gas continues to gen¬ 
erate until the pressure is 
sufficient to force the acid 
back down the tube into 
bottle C, when the action 
ceases. As fast as the gas is used the 
acid rises in the tube and generates 
more, thus keeping the pressure nearly 
constant, the pressure depending on 
the difference between the levels of the 
acid in bottle A and bottle B. As this 
device is easily upset, a ring-stand 
should be used to prevent its being 
broken, or if it is to be a permanent 
apparatus it may be mounted on a 
substantial wooden base. This appa¬ 
ratus may also be used for preparing 
acetylene gas or almost any gas which 



































71 


requires a mixture of a solid and liquid 
in its preparation.—Contributed by C. 
S. J., Detroit. 

Restoring Tone to a Cracked Bell 

Many a bell with a deadened tone 
due to a cracked rim, can be given 
its original clear ringing sound by saw¬ 
ing out the crack with a common hack¬ 
saw. Make the saw cut along the line 
of the crack. The opening caused by 
the saw will allow the free vibration 
of the metal.—Contributed by F. W. 
Bently, Jr., Huron, S. Dak. 


How to Make a Paper Phonograph 
Horn 

Secure a piece of tubing about 1 % 
in. long that will fit the connection to 
the reproducer, and wrap a quantity of 
heavy thread around one end as shown 
in the enlarged sketch A, Fig. 1. Form 
a cone of heavy paper, 9 
in. long and 3 in. in diam¬ 
eter, at the larger end with 
the smaller end to fit the 
diameter of the tube A, 
making it three-ply thick 
and gluing the layers to¬ 
gether. Attach this cone 
on the tube A where the 
thread has been wrapped 
with glue, as shown in Fig. 

2. Fig. 2 is also an en¬ 
larged sketch. Make ten 
pieces about 1 ft. 10 in. in 
length and 3 in. wide from 
the thin boards of a biscuit 
or cracker box. Cut an arc 
of a circle in them on a 
radius of 2 ft. (Fig. 3). 

Make a 10-sided stick, 12 in. long, that 
will fit loosely in the tube A, to which 
nail the 10 pieces as shown in Fjg. 4, 
connecting the bottom by cross pieces, 
using care to keep them at equal dis¬ 
tances apart and in a circle whose di¬ 
ameter is about 2 ft. 

The cone is placed over the stick as 
shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 4 and 
temporarily fastened in position. Cut 
out paper sections (Fig. 5) that will 
cover each space between the 10 pieces, 


allowing 1 in. on one side and the top, 
in which to cut slits that will form 
pieces to overlap the next section and 
to attach with glue. Fasten the sec¬ 
tions all around in like manner. The 
next course is put on in strips over¬ 
lapping as shown at B, Fig. 6. Finish 
by putting on sections in the same way 
as the first course, making it three-ply 
thick. Remove the form, trim to suit 
and glue a piece of paper over the 
edge. When the glue is thoroughly 
hardened, put on two coats of white 
and one of blue paint, shading it to 
suit and striping it with gold bronze. 


How to Make a Hygrometer 

A homemade hygrometer, for deter¬ 
mining the degree of moisture in the 
atmosphere, is shown in the accompa¬ 
nying sketch and consists of a board, 


A, with a nail at each end to hold the 
silk thread B. A second piece of silk 
thread, C, is tied to the center of B 
and connects with an indicating hand 
or pointer supported by the bracket D. 
The axle on which the pointer revolves 
consists of a piece of round wood, about 
the size of a lead-pencil, with a pin 
driven in each end. A piece of tin, E, 
is cut V-shaped at each end and bent 
up at the ends to form bearings for the 
pins. The silk thread C is fastened 






















72 


to the wooden axle and is wrapped one 
or two turns around it, so that when 



the thread is pulled the pointer will 
move on the scale. It will be noticed 
that the thread B is not perfectly 
straight, but bends toward D. For 
this reason a very small shrinkage of 
B, such as occurs when the atmosphere 
is dry, will cause an increased move¬ 
ment of C, which will be further in¬ 
creased in the movement of the pointer. 
An instrument of this kind is very in¬ 
teresting and costs nothing to make.— 
Contributed by Reader, Denver. 


The Protection of a Spring Lock 

After shutting the front door and 
hearing the spring lock snap into its 
socket, most people go off with a child¬ 
like faith in the safety of their goods 
and chattels. But the cold fact is that 
there is scarcely any locking device 
which affords less protection than the 
ordinary spring lock. It is the sim¬ 
plest thing in the world for a sneak- 
thief to slip a thin knife between the 
door-casing and the strip, push back 
the bolt, and walk in. 

Fortunately, it is equally easy to 
block that trick. Take a narrow piece 
of tin 3 or 4 in. long, bend it at right 
angles throughout its length, and tack 


it firmly in the angle between the 
casing and strip, so as to make it im¬ 
possible to reach the bolt without tear¬ 
ing off the' strip. 

Another way is to drive nails through 
the strip at intervals of half an inch, 
enough to protect the bolt from 
being meddled with. 


A Controller and Reverse for a 
Battery Motor 

Secure a cigar or starch box and use 
to make the base, B. Two wood-base 
switches, S S, are cut off a little past 
the center and fastened to the base 
with a piece of wood between them. 
The upper switch, S, is connected to 
different equal points on a coil of wire, 
W, while the lower switch, S, is con¬ 
nected each point to a battery, as 
shown. The reverse switch, R, is 
made from two brass or copper strips 
fastened at the top to the base with 
screws and joined together by a piece 
of hard rubber or wood with a small 
handle attached. Connect wires A to 
the armature and wires F to the field 
of the motor. By this arrangement 
one, two or three and so on up until 
all the battery cells are used and dif¬ 
ferent points of resistance secured on 
the coil of wire. The reverse lever 
when moved from right to left, or left 
to right, changes the direction of the 
armature in the motor from one way to 
the other.—Contributed by J. Fremont 
Hilscher, Jr., West St. Paul, Minn. 


/ 

v? t 
• 

• 

! c 

o 6=±A 

MsM: 

j \ > 

Mw 
/ 1 
'! B 15 

4 

\ i ( 

\ : 

j N 

M 

Ui 

i ;- J r 

> <j> (!) 

n j 
[?i 

—* i 

r 

(%r 


trifl-i 


A 

F" 


Motor Reverse and Controller 






































































75 



Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 

Move These Figures Rapidly with a Rinsing Motion 


in one direction and then in the oppo¬ 
site direction, in such a way that any 
given point on the page will describe a 
circle of about V 2 in. diameter. Fig. 1 
then appears to rotate in the same 
direction as the revolution; Fig. 2 ap¬ 
pears to revolve in the opposite direc¬ 
tion, and Fig. 3 appears to revolve 
sometimes in the same direction and at 
other times in the opposite'direction. 

A curious effect can be produced 
with Fig. 1 by covering up Figs. 2 and 
3 with a piece of plain paper and lay¬ 
ing a coin or other small object on the 
paper. If the vision is then concen¬ 
trated on the coin or other object while 
same is being revolved, Fig. 1 will be 
seen to rotate. 


Barrel-Stave Hammock 

A hammock made of barrel staves 
is more comfortable than one would 
think, considering the nature of the 
material employed in making it. Good 
smooth staves should be selected for 
this purpose, and if one cares to go to 
a little trouble a thorough sandpaper¬ 
ing will make a great improvement. 
Cut half circles out of each stave, as 
shown at AA, and pass ropes around 



the ends as shown at B. When finished 
the weight will then be supported by 
four ropes at each end, which allows 
the use of small-sized ropes, such as 
clothes lines. A hammock of this kind 
may be left out in the rain without in¬ 
jury.—Contributed by H. G. M., St. 
Louis, Mo. 


A Singing Telephone 

Those who have not already tried 
the experiment may be interested to 
know that a telephone may be made to 
sing by holding the receiver adout -jV 
in. from the transmitter, as shown in 
the illustration. The experiment will 



To Make a Telephone Sing 


work well on most telephones, but not 
on all. 

When the receiver is placed in the 
position shown it acts like an ordinary 
buzzer, and the function of the trans¬ 
mitter will then be that of an inter¬ 
rupter. The slightest movement of 
the transmitter diaphragm will cause 
an increased movement of the receiver 
diaphragm. This in turn will act on 
the transmitter, thus setting up sympa¬ 
thetic vibrations between the two, 
which accounts for the sound. 

















76 


A Microscope Without a Lens 

By E. W. DAVIS 

Nearly everyone has heard of the 
pin-hole camera, but the fact that the 
same principle can be used to make a 
microscope, having a magnifying 
power of 8 diameters (64 times) will 
perhaps be new to some readers. 

To make this lensless microscope, 
procure a wooden spool, A (a short 
spool, say % or % in. long, produces a 
higher magnifying power), and enlarge 
the bore a little at one end. Then 
blacken the inside with india ink and 
allow it to dry. From a piece of thin 



Detail of Lensless Microscope 


transparent celluloid or mica, cut out a 
small disk, B, and fasten to the end 
having the enlarged bore, by means of 
brads. On the other end glue a piece 
of thin black cardboard, C, and at the 
center, D, make a small hole with the 
point of a fine needle. It is very im¬ 
portant that the hole D should be very 
small, otherwise the image will be 
blurred. 

To use this microscope, place a small 
object on the transparent disk, which 
may be moistened to make the object 
adhere, and look through the hole D. 
It is necessary to have a strong light 
to get good results, and, as in all micro¬ 
scopes of any power, the object should 
be of a transparent nature. 

The principle on which this instru¬ 
ment works is illustrated in Fig. 2. 
The apparent diameter of an object is 


inversely proportional to its distance 
from the eye, i. e., if the distance is 
reduced to one-half, the diameter will 
appear twice as large; if the distance is 
reduced to one-third, the diameter will 
appear three times as large, and so on. 
As the nearest distance at which the 
average person can see an object clearly 
is about 6 in., it follows that the di¬ 
ameter of an object % i n * from the eye 
would appear 8 times the normal size. 
The object would then be magnified 8 
diameters, or 64 times. (The area 
would appear 64 times as large.) But 
an object % in. from the eye appears so 
blurred that none of the details are dis¬ 
cernible, and it is for this reason that 
the pin-hole is employed. 

Viewed through this microscope, a 
fly’s wing appears as large as a per¬ 
son’s hand, held at arm’s length, and 
has the general appearance shown in 
Fig. 3. The mother of vinegar exam¬ 
ined in the same way is seen to be 
swarming with a mass of wriggling 
little worms, and may possibly cause 
the observer to abstain from all salads 
forever after. An innocent-looking 
drop of water, in which hay has been 
soaking for several days, reveals hun¬ 
dreds of little infusoria, darting across 
the field in every direction. These and 
hundreds of other interesting objects 
may be observed in this little instru¬ 
ment, which costs little or nothing to 
make. 


How to Make a Telegraph Key and 
Sounder 

The sounder, Fig. 1, is made from an 
old electric-bell magnet, D, fastened to 
a wooden base. The lever, A, can be 
made of brass and the armature, C, is 
made of iron. The pivot, E, is made 
from a wire nail and is soldered to A. 
It should be filed to a point at each end 
so as to move freely in the bearings, B, 
which are pieces of hard wood. 

The spring, H, is fastened at each 
end by pins, bent as shown, and should 
not be too strong or the magnet will be 
unable to move the armature. The 

















77 



SOUNDER—A, brass; B, wood; C, soft iron; 
DD, coils wound with No. 26 wire; E, nail 
soldered on A; FF, binding posts; H spring 


stop, K, is a wire nail driven deep 
enough in the base to leave about % 
in. between the armature and the mag¬ 
net. The binding posts, F, may be 
taken from old dry batteries and are 
connected to the two wires from the 
magnet by wires run in grooves cut 
in the base. 

The base of the key, Fig. 2, is also 
made of wood and has two wooden 
bearings, E, which are made to receive 
a pivot, similar to the one used in the 
sounder. The lever of the key is made 
of brass and has a hardwood knob, A, 
fastened near the end. A switch, D, 
connects with the pivot at F and can 
be either made from sheet brass, or 
taken from a small one-point switch. 
The binding posts are like those of 
the sounder, and are connected to the 
contacts, K, by wires run in grooves 
cut in the wood 



KEY—A, wood; B, brass or iron soldered to 
nail; C, brass ; D, brass j E, wood; F, connection 
of D to nail; HH, binding posts 


How to Make a Music Cabinet 

A neat music cabinet can be made as 
shown in the accompanying sketch. 
Each side, A A, Fig. 1, is cut from a 
board about 36 in. in length and 16 in. 
wide. Both are alike and can be cut 
from the same pattern. As the front 
legs curve out a little the main body 
of the boards A A should be 15 in. 
wide. The back, B, should be about 22 
in. long by 16 in. wide and set in be¬ 
tween sides A A. Cut the top, C, 16 
in. long and 14% in. wide. The bot¬ 
tom must be the same length as the 
top and 13% in. wide. 

The door, D, can be made panel as 
shown, or a single piece, 16 in. wide 
and about 20 in. long. All material 
used is to be made from boards that 
will dress to % in. thick. 


Fig. 2 


How to Make a Music Cabinet 

Shelving may be put in as shown in 
Fig. 2 and made from %-in. material. 
Make 12 cleats, E, 13% in. long, from 
a strip of wood % by % in., with a 
groove % by % in. cut in them. Fasten 
6 cleats evenly spaced on the inside 
of each of the sides, A A, with %-in. 
brads. This will give seven spaces for 
music and as the shelves are removable 
two places can be made into one. 


Easily Made Wireless Coherer 

A good wireless coherer may be made 
with very little expense, the only ma¬ 
terials necessary being a glass tube, 
two corks, a magnetized needle and a 
quantity of iron and silver filings. Push 
a piece of wire through one cork and 
































































78 


place in the bottom of the tube, as 
shown in the sketch. 

Pour in the filings and insert the top 
cork with the needle pushed through 



from above. The point of the needle 
should barely touch the filings and by 
slightly agitating the tube the iron 
filings will separate from the silver and 
cling to the magnetized needle, as 
shown. 

In operation, the device must stand 
on end and should be connected in the 
circuit as shown in the sketch. When 
the electrical waves strike the needle, 
the conductivity of the filings is estab¬ 
lished and a click is heard in the re¬ 
ceiver.—Contributed by Carl Form- 
hals, Garfield, Ill. 


One-Wire Telegraph Line 

The accompanying wiring diagram 
shows a telegraph system that requires 
no switches and may be operated with 
open-circuit batteries on a one-wire 


<j 

t —IHHH^ 


Battery 


~| j j So under 
\or ound 


1 \ T 
w 

Battery 


ftert/ 

Sounder in 
Groun d 


Diagram of One-Wire Line 


line with ground connections at each 
end. Any telegraph set in which the 


key makes double contact can be con¬ 
nected up in this way.—Contributed 
by R. A. Brown, Fairport, N. Y. 

How to Make a Water Rheostat 

A water rheostat may be made by , 
fitting a brass tube with a cork, 
through which a piece of wire is passed. 
The brass tube may be 
an old bicycle hand 
pump, A (see sketch), 
filled with water. Push¬ 
ing the wire, B, down 
into the water increases 
the surface in contact, 
and thus decreases the 
resistance. An appara¬ 
tus of this kind is suit¬ 
able for regulating the 
current from an induc¬ 
tion coil, when the coil 
is not provided with a 
regulator, and by using 
a piece of pipe instead 
of the tube, it can be 
used to regulate the 
speed of a motor. 

When the pipe is 
used, a piece of brass or copper rod 
should be substituted for the wire, in 
order to increase the surface. Adding 
salt to the water will decrease the re¬ 
sistance, and, when used with a motor, 
will give a greater speed.—Contributed 
by John Koehler, Ridgewood, N. J. 


Electric Door-Opener 

A very convenient and efficient de¬ 
vice for unlocking any door fitted with 
a spring lock is shown in the accom¬ 
panying sketches. A fairly stiff spring, 
A, is connected by a flexible wire cord 
to the knob B. The cord is also fas¬ 
tened to a lever, C, which is pivoted at 
D and is released by a magnetic trig¬ 
ger, E, made from the armature and 
magnet of an old electric bell. 

When the circuit is completed by 
means of a secret contact device out¬ 
side the door, the magnet, F, pulls 
down the armature,, which releases the 
trigger and allows the spring to open 
the lock. If there are metal numbers 



Water Rheostat 
















































79 


on the outside of the door they may be 
used for the secret contact, if desired, 



but if there are no numbers on the 
door, a small contact-board may be 
constructed by driving about 12 brass¬ 
headed tacks into a thin piece of wood 
and making connections at the back as 
shown in the wiring diagram. 

In this particular diagram the tacks 
numbered 1 and 7 are used for unlock¬ 
ing the door, the others being con¬ 
nected with the electric-bell circuit as 
indicated, for the purpose of giving an 
alarm should anybody try to experi¬ 
ment with the secret contacts. By 
means of a pocket knife or other metal 
article the operator can let himself in 
at any time by connecting the tacks 
numbered 1 and 7, while a person not 
knowing the combination would be 
liable to sound the alarm. Of course, 
the builder of this device may choose 
a combination of his own and may thus 
prevent anybody else from entering 
the door, even those who read this 
description.—Contributed by Perry A. 
Borden, Gachville, N. B. 



How to Tighten a Curtain-Roller 
Spring 

A common table fork can be used to 
hold the little projection on the end of 
a curtain roller for tightening the 
spring. Hold the fork firmly with one 
hand while turning the roller with the 
other. Do not let go of the fork until 
the little catches are set in position to 
prevent the spring from turning, or else 
the fork may be thrown off with dan¬ 
gerous force. 

Alarm Clock Chicken Feeder 

An automatic poultry feeder, which 
will discharge the necessary amount 
of corn or other 
feed at any de¬ 
sired time, may be 
made by using an 
alarm clock as 
shown in the 
sketch. A small 
wire trigger rests 
on the winding 
key and supports 
the swinging bot¬ 
tom of the food 
hopper by means 
of a piece of string 
which connects 
the two. When 
the alarm goes off 
the trigger drops and allows the door 
to open, thus discharging the contents 
of the hopper. 

After the device has been in opera¬ 
tion for some time the hens will run 
to the feeder whenever the bell rings. 
—Contributed by Dr. H. A. Dobson, 
Washington, D. C. 


Homemade Disk-Record Cabinet 

Select some boards that have a nice 
grain and about 1 in. thick and 12 in. 
wide. Cut the end pieces each 36 in. 
long and trim down the edges so as to 
make them 11% in. wide. The top 
board is made 28 in. long and full 12 
in. wide. The three shelves are cut 
25 in. long and the edges trimmed so 
they will be 11% in. wide. The dis¬ 
tance between the bottom of the top 




































































80 


board and the top of the first shelf 
should be 3 in. Two drawers are fitted 
in this space, as shown in Fig. 1. A 
series of grooves are cut % in* wide, 



Cabinet Holding 32 Records 


in. deep and % in. apart on one side 
of the top and bottom shelves, as 
shown in Fig. 2, and on both sides of 
the middle shelf. The shelves should 
be spaced 9% in. for 10-in. records and 
5% in. for 6-in. records. A neat scroll 
design is cut from a board 25 in. long 
to fill up and finish the space below the 
bottom shelf.—Contributed by H. E. 
Mangold, Compton, Cal. 


A Battery Rheostat 

In a board 7 in. long and 5 in. wide 
bore holes about % in. apart, in a semi- 
circle 2 in. 
from the bot¬ 
tom, and cut 
notches in top 
end to corre¬ 
spond with 
the holes. 
From a piece 
of brass a 
switch, C, is 
cut with a 
knob soldered 
on at the end. 
Nails for 
stops are 
placed at DD. 
Two binding-posts are placed in board 
at A and B. With about 9 ft. of fine 
iron wire attach one end to the bottom 
of post A and run through first hole 
and over in first notch to back of board 



and then through second hole and over 
second notch and so on until E is 
reached, where the other end of wire is 
fastened. Connect switch to post B. 
—Contributed by Edmund Kuhn, Jr., 
East Orange, N. J. 


Automatic Time Switch 

This device may be used to either 
open or close the circuit at any desired 
time. An alarm clock is firmly fast¬ 
ened to a wooden bracket and provided 
with a small wood or metal drum, A, 
to which is fastened a cord, B. The 
other end of the cord is tied to the 
switch handle so that when the alarm 
goes off the switch is either opened or 



closed, depending on whether the cord 
is passed over pulley C or pulley D. 

When the cord is passed over pulley 
C, as shown in Fig. 1, the circuit will 
be closed when the alarm gees off, but 
if it is passed over D the circuit will 
be opened. Pulley D is fastened to a 
piece of spring steel, E,, which in ope¬ 
ration is bent, as shown by the dotted 
lines, thus causing the switch to snap 
open quickly and prevent forming an 
arc.—Contributed by Douglas Royer, 
Roanoke, Va. 








































81 


How to Make a Rotary Pump 

A simple rotary pump is constructed 
on the principle of creating a vacuum 
in a rubber tube and so causing water 
to rise to fill the vac¬ 
uum. Figs. 3, 4 and 5 
show all the parts 
needed, excepting the 
crank and tubing. The 
dimensions and de¬ 
scription given are for 
a minimum pump, but 
a larger one could be 
built in proportion. 

Through the center 
of a block of wood 4 in. 
square and % in. thick 
(A, Figs. 1, 2 and 3) 
saw a circular opening 
2% in. in diameter. On 
each side of this block 
cut a larger circle 3*4 
in. in diameter, having 
the same center as the 
first circle (Fig. 3). 

Cut the last circles only 
^4 in. deep, leaving the 
first circle in the form 
of a ridge or track % 
in. wide, against which 
the rubber tubing, E, 
is compressed by 
wheels. Bore two %- 
in. holes (HH, Fig. 1) 
from the outside of the 
block to the edge of 
the inner circle. Put 
the rubber tube, E, 
through one of these 
holes, pass it around the track and out 
through the other hole. Notice the 
break (S) in the track ; this is neces¬ 
sary in order to place in position the 
piece holding the wheels. 

Fig. 4 shows the wheel-holder, B. 
Make it of hard wood 3% in. long, 1 in. 
wide and a little less than % in. thick, 
so that it will run freely between the 
sides (Fig. 5) when they are placed. 
Cut two grooves, one in each end, 1 in. 
deep and % in. wide. In these grooves 
place wheels, CC, to turn on pins of 
stout wire, These wheels should be 


% in. in diameter. When placed in 
the holder their centers must be exactly 
2 in. apart, or so arranged that the dis¬ 
tance between the edge of the wheels 


and the track (K, Fig. 1) is equal to the 
thickness of the tubing when pressed 
flat. If the wheels fit too tightly, 
they will bind; if too loose, they will 
let the air through. Bore a hole 
through the middle of the wheel-holder 
and insert the crankpin, D, which 
should be about % in. in diameter. 
The crankpin should fit tightly; if 
necessary drive a brad through to keep 
it from slipping. 

In the sides (Fig. 5) bore a hole in 
the center of the crankpin to run in 
loosely. Now put all these parts to- 


PLAN OF PUMP SIDES REMOVED 





























































82 


gether, as shown in the illustration. 
Do not fasten the sides too securely 
until you have tried the device and are 
sure it will run smoothly. For the 
crank a bent piece of stout wire or a 
nail will serve, though a small iron 
wheel is better, as it gives steadiness 
to the motion. In this case a handle 
must be attached to the rim of the 
wheel to serve as a crank. The drive 
wheel from a broken-down eggbeater 
will do nicely. For ease in handling 
the pump, a platform should be added. 

To use the pump, fill the tube with 
water and place the lower end of the 
tube in a reservoir of water. Make a 
nozzle of the end of a clay pipe stem 
for the other end of the tube. Then 
turn the crank from left to right. The 
first wheel presses the air out of the 
tube, creating a vacuum which is im¬ 
mediately filled with water. Before 
the first wheel releases the tube at the 
top, the other wheel has reached the 
bottom, this time pressing along the 
water that was brought up by the first 
wheel. If the motion of the wheels 
is regular, the pump will give a steady 
stream. Two feet of %-in. tubing, 
costing 10 cents, is all the expense nec¬ 
essary.—Contributed by Dan H. Hub¬ 
bard, Idana, Kan. 


How to Make a Fire Screen 

A screen which will not interfere 
with the radiation of the heat from 
the fire, and will keep skirts and chil¬ 
dren safe can be made at little expense 
out of some strap iron. The screen 
which is shown in Fig. 1, stands 20 in. 
high from the base to the op cross¬ 
piece and is made of % by %-in. and 
% by %-in. iron. The top and bottom 
pieces marked AA, Fig. 1, are % 
by yi in. and are 30 in. long, bent 
at an angle to fit the fireplace 7 
in. from each end, as shown in 
Fig. 2. The three legs marked BBB, 
Fig. 1, are of the same size iron and 
each leg will take 34 in. of material. 
In shaping the feet of these three pieces 
give them a .slight tendency to lean 
toward the fire or inside of screen, says 


a correspondent in the Blacksmith and 
Wheelwright. In the two cross bars 
1 in. from each end, A in Fig. 2, mark 
for hole and 3 in. from that mark the 



FlG.2 

Made of Strap Iron 


next hole. Take the center of the bar, 
B, 15 in. from each end, and mark for 
a hole, and 3% in. on each side mark 
again and 31/2 in. beyond each of these 
two, mark again. 

Mark the legs 2% in. from the bot¬ 
tom and 2 in. from the top and after 
making rivet-holes rivet them to the 
cross bars, AA, Fig. 1. 

Cut six pieces, l? 1 /^ in. long and 
punch holes to fit and rivet onto the 
remaining holes in cross bars, AA, Fig. 
1. Clean it up and give it a coat of 
black Japan or dead black. 


Trap for Small Animals 

This is a box trap with glass sides 
and back, the panes of glass being held 
in place by brads 
placed on both sides. 
The animal does not 
fear to enter the box, 
because he can see 
through it; when he 
enters, however, and touches the bait 
the lid is released and, dropping, shuts 
him in. This is one of the easiest traps 
to build and is usually successful. 































































83 


Homemade Grenet Battery 

Procure an ordinary carbon-zinc, sal- 
ammoniac battery and remove the zinc 
rod. If the battery has been used be¬ 
fore, it is better to soak the carbon 
cylinder for a few hours to remove any 
remaining crystals of sal ammoniac 
from its pores. 

The truncated, conical zinc required 
is known as a fuller’s zinc and can be 
bought at any electrical supply dealer’s, 
or, it may be cast in a sand mold 
from scrap zinc or the worn-out zinc 
rods from sal-ammoniac batteries. It 
should be cast on the end of a piece of 
No. 14 copper wire. Amalgamation is 
not necessary for the zinc one buys, 
but if one casts his own zinc, it is nec¬ 
essary to amalgamate it or coat it with 
mercury. This may be done as follows: 

Dip a piece of rag in a diluted so¬ 
lution of sulphuric acid (water 16 parts, 
acid 1 part) ; rub the zinc well, at 
the same time allowing a few drops of 
mercury to fall on a spot attacked by 
the acid. The mercury will adhere, and 
if the rubbing is continued so as to 
spread the mercury, it will cover the 
entire surface of the zinc, giving it a 
bright, silvery appearance. 

Next procure what is known as a 
wire connector. This is a piece of cop¬ 
per tube about D /2 in. long having two 
thumb screws, one on each end on 
opposite sides (Fig. 2). The upper 
screw is to connect the battery wire, 
the lower one to raise and lower the 
zinc. The battery is now complete, 
and the solution (Fig. 1) must be pre¬ 
pared. Proceed as follows: 

In 32 oz. of water dissolve 4 oz. 
potassium bichromate. When the bi¬ 
chromate has all dissolved, add slowly, 
stirring constantly, 4 oz. sulphuric 
acid. Do not add the acid too quickly 
or the heat generated may break the 
vessel containing the solution. Then 
pour the solution into the battery jar, 
until it is within 3 in. of the top. 
Thread the wire holding the zinc 
through the porcelain insulator of the 
carbon cylinder and also through the 
wire connector. Pull the zinc up as far 


as it will go and tighten the lower 
thumb screw so that it holds the wire 
secure. Place the carbon in the jar. 
If the solution touches the zinc, some 
of it should be poured out. To de¬ 
termine whether or not the zinc is 
touched by the solution, take out the 
carbon and lower the zinc. If it is wet, 
there is too much liquid in the jar. The 
battery is now ready for use. 

To cause a flow of electricity, lower 
the zinc until it almost touches the bot¬ 
tom of the jar and connect an electric 



bell or other electrical apparatus by 
means of wires to the two binding 
posts. 

This battery when first set up gives 
a current of about two volts. It is use¬ 
ful for running induction coils, or small 
electric motors. When through using 
the battery, raise the zinc and tighten 
the lower thumb screw. This prevents 
the zinc wasting away when no cur¬ 
rent is being used.—Contributed by H. 
C. Meyer, Philadelphia. 


Door-Opener for Furnace 

The accompanying diagram shows 
an arrangement to open the coal door 
of a furnace. When approaching the 
furnace with a shovelful of coal it is 
usually necessary to rest the shovel 
on the top of the ash door, while the 
coal door is being opened. With my 
device it is only necessary to press the 
foot pedal, which opens the door. Af- 
















84 


ter putting in the coal, pressing the 
pedal closes the door. The pulley in 
the ceiling must be placed a little in 
front of the door, in order to throw 



the door open after lifting it from the 
catch. A large gate hinge is used to 
hold the pedal to the floor.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Edward Whitney, Madison, 
Wis. 


How to Make an Efficient 
Wireless Telegraph 

By GEORGE W. RICHARDSON 

A simple but very efficient wireless 
telegraph may be constructed at slight 
cost from the following description: 

The sending apparatus consists of 
nothing but an induction coil with a 
telegraph key inserted in the primary 
circuit, i. e., the battery circuit. This 
apparatus may be purchased from any 
electrical-supply house. The price of 
the coil depends upon its size, and upon 
the size depends the distance signals 
can be transmitted. If, however, one 
wishes to construct his own coil he can 
make and use, with slight changes, the 
jump-spark coil described elsewhere in 
this book. This coil, being a 1-in. coil, 
will transmit nicely up to a distance of 
one mile; while a 12-in. coil made on 
the same plan will transmit 20 miles or 
even more under favorable conditions. 


Change the coil described, as fol¬ 
lows: Insert an ordinary telegraph 
key in the battery circuit, and attach 
two small pieces of wire with a brass 
ball on each, by inserting them in the 
binding-posts of the coil as shown at 
B B". Of these two terminal wires 
one is grounded to earth, while the 
other wire is sent aloft and is called 
the aerial line. This constitutes all 
there is to the sending apparatus. 

Now for the receiving apparatus. In 
the earlier receiving instruments a co¬ 
herer was used, consisting of a glass 
tube about %-in. diameter, in which 
were two silver pistons separated by 
nickel and silver filings, in a partial 
vacuum. This receiver was difficult of 
adjustment and slow in transmission. 
An instrument much less complicated 
and inexpensive and which will work 
well can be made thus: 

Take a 5-cp. incandescent lamp and 
break off the tip at the dotted line, as 
shown in Fig. 5. This can be done by 
giving the glass tip or point a quick 
blow with a file or other thin edged 
piece of metal. Then with a blow-torch 
heat the broken edges until red hot and 
turn the edges in as seen in Fig. 6. Re¬ 
move the carbon filament in the lamp 
and bend the two small platinum wires 
so they will point at each other as in 
Fig ; 6, W W. Screw the lamp into an 
ordinary wall socket which will serve 
as a base as in Fig. 7. Make a solution 
of 1 part sulphuric acid to 4 parts of 
water, and fill the lamp about two- 
thirds full (Fig. 7). This will make an 
excellent receiver. It will be necessary 
to adjust the platinum points, W W, to 
suit the distance the message is to be 
worked. For a mile or less the points 
should be about iV in. apart, and closer 
for longer distances. 

The tuning coil is simply a variable 
choking coil, made of No. 14 insulated 
copper wire wound on an iron core, as 
shown in Fig. 7. After winding, care¬ 
fully scrape the insulation from one 
side of the coil, in a straight line from 
top to bottom, the full length of the 
coil, uncovering just enough to allow a 











85 


good contact for the sliding piece. The 
tuning is done by sliding the contact 
piece, which is made 
of light copper wire, 
along the convolu¬ 
tions of the tuning 
coil until you can 
hear the signals. The 
signals are heard in 
a telephone receiver, 
which is shown con¬ 
nected in shunt across the binding- 
posts of the lamp holder with one or 
two cells of dry battery in circuit, 
Fig. 7. 

The aerial line, No. 6 stranded, is run 


post, A, to the ground and be sure to 
make a good ground connection. 

. For simple experimental work on 
distances of 100 ft. only, an ordinary 
automobile spark coil can be used in 
place of the more elaborate coil, Figs. 
1 to 4. 

The above-mentioned instruments 
have no patents on them, and any one 
is at liberty to build and use them. The 
writer does not claim to be the origi¬ 
nator, but simply illustrates the above 
to show that, after all, wireless is very 
simple when it is once understood. The 
fundamental principles are that induc¬ 
tion travels at right angles, 90°, to the 




from binding-post B through the chok¬ 
ing or tuning coil, and for best results 
should extend up 50 ft. in the air. To 
work a 20-mile distance the line should 
be 100 or 150 ft. above the ground. A 
good way is to erect a wooden pole on 
a house or barn and carry the aerial 
wire to the4op and out to the end of a 
gaff or arm. 

To the end of the aerial wire fasten 
a bunch of endless loops made of about 
No. 14 magnet wire (bare or insulated), 
attaching both ends to the leading or 
aerial wire. The aerial wire should not 
come nearer than 1 ft. at any point to 
any metal which is grounded. 

Run a wire from the other binding- 


direction of the current. For an illus¬ 
tration, if a person standing on a bridge 
should drop a pebble into the water be¬ 
low, after contact he would note circles 
radiating out over the surface of the 
water. These circles, being at right 
angles, 90°, to the direction of the force 
that caused the circles, are analogous 
to the flow of induction, and hence the 
aerial line, being vertical, transmits 
signals horizontally over the earth’s 
surface. 


CWhen filling nail holes in yellow pine 
use beeswax instead of putty, as it 
matches the color well. 






































































86 


How to Make a Lathe 

A small speed-lathe, suitable for 
turning wood or small metal articles, 
may be easily made at very little ex¬ 
pense. A lathe of this kind is shown 
in the cut (Fig. 1), where A is the 
headstock, B the bed and C the tail- 
stock. I run my lathe by power, using 
an electric motor and countershaft, but 
it could be run by footpower if desired. 
A large cone pulley would then be re¬ 
quired, but this may be made in the 
same manner as the small one, which 
will be described later. 

The bed of the machine is made of 


bearing slightly by placing a piece of 
cardboard on each side, just touching 
the shaft. The edges which touch the 
shaft should be notched like the teeth 
of a saw, so as to allow the babbitt to 
run into the lower half of the bearing. 
The notches for this purpose may be 
about Vs in. pitch and Vs in. deep. 
Place pieces of wood against the ends 
of the bearing as shown at A and B, 
Fig. 4, and drill a hole in the top of 
the bearing as shown in Fig. 4. 

The bearing is then ready to be 
poured. Heat the babbitt well, but 
not hot enough to burn it, and it is well 



Assembled Lathe Bed and Bearing Details 


wood as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, hard¬ 
wood being preferable for this pur¬ 
pose. Fig. 2 shows an end view of the 
assembled bed, and Fig. 3 shows how 
the ends are cut out to receive the side 
pieces. 

The headstock, Fig. 6, is fastened to 
the bed by means of carriage bolts, A, 
which pass through a piece of wood, 
B, on the under side of the bed. The 
shaft is made of %-in. steel tubing 
about Vs in. thick, and runs in babbitt 
bearings, one of which is shown in 
Fig. 5. 

To make these bearings, cut a square 
hole in the wood as shown, making half 
of the square in each half of the bear¬ 
ing. Separate the two halves of the 


to have the shaft hot, too, so that the 
babbitt will not be chilled when it 
strikes the shaft. If the shaft is thor¬ 
oughly chalked or smoked the babbitt 
will not stick to it. After pouring, re¬ 
move the shaft and split the bearing 
with a round, tapered wooden pin. If 
the bearing has been properly made, 
it will split along the line of the 
notched cardboard where the section 
of the metal is smallest. Then drill a 
hole in the top as shown at A, Fig. 5, 
drilling just deep enough to have the 
point of the drill appear at the lower 
side. This cavity acts as an oil cup 
and prevents the bearing from running 
dry. 

The bolts B (Fig. 5) are passed 





















































































































87 


through holes in the wood and screwed 
into nuts C, which are let into holes 



D, the holes afterward being filled 
with melted lead. 

This type of bearing will be found 
very satisfactory and may be used to 
advantage on other machines. After 
the bearings are completed the cone 
pulley can be placed on the shaft: To 
make this pulley cut three circular 
pieces of wood to the dimensions given 
in Fig. 6 and fasten these together with 
nails and glue. If not perfectly true, 
they may be turned up after assem¬ 
bling, by rigging up a temporary tool- 
rest in front of the headstock. 

The tailstock (Fig. 7) is fastened to 
the bed in the same manner as the 
headstock, except that thumb nuts are 
used on the carriage bolts, thus allow¬ 
ing the tailstock to be shifted when nec¬ 
essary. The mechanism of the center 
holder is obtained by using a %-in. 



pipe, A, and a %-in. lock nut, B, em¬ 
bedded in the wood. 

I found that a wooden tool-rest was 


not satisfactory, so I had to buy one, 
but they are inexpensive and much 
handier than homemade tool rest.— 
Contributed by Donald Reeves, Oak 
Park, Ill. 


To Use Old Battery Zincs 

. When the lower half of a battery 
zinc becomes eaten away the remaining 
part can be used again by suspending 
it from a wire as shown in the cut. Be 
sure and have a good connection at the 
zinc binding post and cover that with 
melted paraffin. This prevents corro¬ 
sion, which would otherwise occur 
from the action of the sal ammoniac or 
other chemical. The wire may be held 
at the top by twisting it around a piece 



Showing Zinc Suspended 


of wood or by driving a peg through 
the hole in the porcelain insulator.— 
Contributed by Louis Lauderbach, 
Newark, N. J. 


Callers’ Approach Alarm 

This alarm rings so that callers ap¬ 
proaching the door may be seen before 
they ring the bell and one can exercise 
his pleasure about admitting them. 

If one has a wooden walk, the alarm 
is easy to fix up. Take up about 5 ft. 
of the walk and nail it together so as 
to make a trapdoor that will work 
easily. Place a small spring under one 
end to hold it up about % in. (A, Fig. 
2). Nail a strip of tin along the under 
side of the trap near the spring and 
fasten another strip on the baseboard, 
















































































88 


so that they will not touch, save when 
a weight is on the trap. Connect up an 
electric bell, putting the batteries and 
bell anywhere desired, and using rub- 


Q 



Alarm Rings When Caller Approaches 

ber-covered wire outside the house, and 
the alarm is complete. 

When a person approaching the 
house steps on the trap, the bell will 
ring and those in the house can see 
who it is before the door bell rings.— 
Contributed by R. S. Jackson, Minne¬ 
apolis, Minn. 


Easy Method of Electroplating 

Before proceeding to electroplate 
with copper, silver or other metal, 
clean the articles thoroughly, as the 
least spot of grease or dirt will prevent 



the deposit from adhering. Then polish 
the articles and rub them over with 
a cloth and fine pumice powder, to 


roughen the surface slightly. Finally, 
to remove all traces of grease, dip the 
articles to be plated in a boiling potash 
solution made by dissolving 4 oz. 
American ash in 1% pt. of water. Do 
not touch the work with the hands 
again. To avoid touching it, hang the 
articles on the wires, by which they 
are to be suspended in the plating bath, 
before dipping them in the potash so¬ 
lution; then hold them by the wires 
under running water for ten minutes 
to completely remove every trace of 
the potash. 

For plating with copper prepare the 
following solution: 4 oz. copper sul¬ 
phate dissolved in 12 oz. water; add 
strong ammonia solution until no more 
green crystals are precipitated. Then 
add more ammonia and stir until the 
green crystals are re-dissolved giving 
an intense* blue solution. Add slowly 
a strong solution of potassium cyanide 
until the blue color disappears, leaving 
a clear solution; add potassium cyanide 
again, about one-fourth as much in 
bulk as used in the decolorizing 
process. Then make the solution up 
to 2 qt. with water. With an electric 
pressure of 3.5 to 4 volts, this will give 
an even deposit of copper on the arti¬ 
cle being plated. 

A solution for silverplating may be 
prepared as follows: Dissolve % oz. of 
commercial silver nitrate in 8 oz. of 
water, and slowly add a strong solution 
of potassium cyanide until no more 
white precipitate is thrown down. Then 
pour the liquid off and wash the pre¬ 
cipitate carefully. This is best done by 
filling the bottle with water, shaking, 
allowing precipitate to settle and then 
pouring off the water. Repeat six 
times. Having finished washing the 
precipitate, slowly add to it a solution 
of potassium cyanide until all the pre¬ 
cipitate is dissolved. Then add an ex¬ 
cess of potassium cyanide—about as 
much as was used in dissolving the pre¬ 
cipitate—and make the solution up to 
1 qt. with water. This solution, with 
an electric pressure of 2 to 4 volts, will 
give a good white coat of silver in 
twenty minutes to half-an-hour; use 
















































































89 


2 volts for large articles, and 4 volts 
for very small ones. If more solution 
is required, it is only necessary to 
double all given quantities. 

Before silverplating, such metals as 
iron, lead, pewter, zinc, must be coated 
with copper in the alkaline copper bath 
described, and then treated as copper. 
On brass, copper, German silver, nickel 
and such metals, silver can be plated 
direct. The deposit of silver will be 
dull and must be polished. The best 
method is to use a revolving scratch 
brush; if one does not possess a buffing 
machine, a hand scratch brush is good. 
Take quick, light strokes. Polish the 
articles finally with ordinary plate 
powder. 

The sketch shows how to suspend the 
articles in the plating-bath. If accumu¬ 
lators are used, which is advised, be 
sure to connect the positive (or red) 
terminal to the piece of silver hang¬ 
ing in the bath, and the negative (or 
black) terminal to the article to be 
plated. Where Bunsen cells are used, 
the carbon terminal takes the place of 
the positive terminal of the accumu¬ 
lator.—Model Engineer. 


An Ingenious Electric Lock for a 
Sliding Door 

The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 not 
only unlocks, but opens the door, also, 
by simply pressing the key in the key¬ 
hole. 

In rigging it to a sliding door, the 
materials required are: Three flat pul¬ 
leys, an old electric bell or buzzer, 
about 25 ft. of clothesline rope and 
some No. 18 wire. The wooden catch, 
A (Fig. 1), must be about 1 in. thick 


and 8 in. long; B should be of the same 
wood, 10 in. long, with the pivot 2 in. 
from the lower end. The wooden block 
C, which is held by catch B, can be 
made of a 2-in. piece of broomstick. 
Drill a hole through the center of this 
block for the rope to pass through, and 
fasten it to the rope with a little tire 
tape. 

When all this is set up, as shown in 
Fig. 1, make a key and keyhole. A %- 
in. bolt or a large nail sharpened to a 
point, as at F, Fig. 3, will serve for the 
key. To provide the keyhole, saw a 
piece of wood, I, 1 in. thick by 3 in. 
square, and bore a hole to fit the key 
in the center. Make a somewhat larger 
block (E, Fig. 3) of thin wood with 
a %-in. hole in its center. On one 
side of this block tack a piece of tin 
(K, Fig. 3) directly over the hole. 
Screw the two blocks together, being 
careful to bring the holes opposite each 
other. Then, when the point of the key 
touches the tin, and the larger part 
(F, Fig. 3) strikes the bent wire L, a 
circuit is completed; the buzzer knocks 
catch A (Fig. 1), which rises at the 
opposite end and allows catch B to fly 
forward and release the piece of broom¬ 
stick C. The weight D then falls and 
jerks up the hook-lock M, which un¬ 
locks the door, and the heavier weight 
N immediately opens it. 

Thus, with a switch as in Fig. 3, the 
door can only be opened by the person 
who has the key, for the circuit cannot 
be closed with an ordinary nail or wire. 
B, Fig. 2, shows catch B, Fig. 1, en¬ 
larged; O, Fig. 2, is the cut through 
which the rope runs; H, Fig. 1, is an 
elastic that snaps the catch back into 



Electric Lock for Sliding Door 






























90 


place, and at G the wires run outside 
to the keyhole. 

This arrangement is very convenient 
when one is carrying something in one 
hand and can only use the other. Clos¬ 
ing the door winds up the apparatus 
again.—Contributed by E. H. Klip- 
stein, 116 Prospect St., East Orange, 
New Jersey. 


Parlor Magic for Winter Evenings 
By C. H. CLAUDY 

You are seated in a parlor at night, 
with the lights turned low. In front 
of you, between the parlor and the 
room back of it, is an upright 
square of brightly burning 
lights, surrounding a per¬ 
fectly black space. The ma¬ 
gician stands in front of this, 
in his shirt sleeves, and after 
a few words of introduction 
proceeds to show the won¬ 
ders of his magic cave. 
Showing you plainly that both hands 
are empty, he points with one finger to 
the box, where immediately appears a 
small white china bowl. Holding his 
empty h&nd over this bowl, some 
oranges and apples drop from his 
empty hand into the bowl. He removes 
the bowl from the black box, or cave, 
and hands its contents round to the 
audience. Receiving the bowl again, 
he tosses it into the cave, but it never 
reaches the floor—it disappears in mid¬ 
air. 

The illusions he shows you are too 
many to retail at length. Objects ap¬ 
pear and disappear. Heavy metal ob¬ 
jects, such as forks, spoons and jack- 
knives, which have been shown to the 
audience and which can have no strings 
attached to them, fly about in the box 
at the will of the operator. One thing 
changes to another and back again, and 
black art reigns supreme. 

Now all this “magic” is very simple 
and requires no more skill to prepare 
or execute than any clever boy or girl 
of fourteen may possess. It is based 
on the performance of the famous Her¬ 


mann, and relies on a principle of op¬ 
tics for its success. To prepare such a 
magic cave, the requisites are a large 
soap box, a few simple tools, some 
black paint, some black cloth, and 
plenty of candles. 

The box must be altered first. One 
end is removed, and a slit, one-third 
of the length from the remaining end, 
cut in one side. This slit should be 
as long as the width of the box and 
about five inches wide. On either side 
of the box, half way from open end to 
closed end, should be cut a hole, just 
large enough to comfortably admit a 
hand and arm. 

Next, the box should be painted 
black both inside and out, and finally 
lined inside with black cloth. This 
lining must be done neatly—no folds 
must show and no heads of tacks. The 
interior must be a dead black. The 
box is painted black first so that the 
cloth used need not be very heavy; but 
if the cloth be sufficiently thick, no 
painting inside is required. The whole 
inside is to be cloth-lined, floor, top, 
sides and end. 

Next, the illumination in front must 
be arranged. If you can have a 
plumber make you a square frame of 
gas-piping, with tiny holes all along it 
for the gas to escape and be lit, and 
connect this by means of a rubber tube 
to the gas in the house, so much the 
better; but a plentiful supply of short 
candles will do just as well, although 
a little more trouble. The candles 
must be close together and arranged 
on little brackets around the whole 
front of the “cave” (see small cut), 
and should have little pieces of bright 
tin behind them, to throw the light 
toward the audience. The whole func¬ 
tion of these candles is to dazzle the 
eyes of the spectators, heighten the 
illusion, and prevent them seeing very 
far into the black box. 

Finally, you must have an assistant, 
who must be provided with either 
black gloves or black bags to go over 
his hands and arms, and several black 
drop curtains, attached to sticks greater 
in length than the width of the box, 








91 


which are let down through the slit 
in the top. 

The audience room should have only- 
low lights; the room where the cave is 
should be dark, and if you can drape 
portieres between two rooms around 
the box (which, of course, is on a ta¬ 
ble) so much the better. 

The whole secret of the trick lies in 
the fact that if light be turned away 
from anything black, into the eyes of 
him who looks, the much fainter light 
reflected from the black surface will 
not affect the observer's eye. Conse¬ 
quently, if, when the exhibitor puts 
his hand in the cave, his confederate be¬ 
hind inserts his hand, covered with a 
black glove and holding a small bag of 
black cloth, in which are oranges and 
apples, and pours them from the bag 
into a dish, the audience sees the or¬ 
anges and apples appear, but does not 
see the black arm and bag against the 
black background. 

The dish appears by having been 
placed in position behind a black cur¬ 
tain, which is snatched swiftly away 
at the proper moment by the assistant. 
Any article thrown into the cave and 
caught by the black hand and con¬ 
cealed by a black cloth seems to dis¬ 
appear. Any object not too large can 
be made to “levitate" by the same 
means. A picture of any one present 
may be made to change into a grinning 
skeleton by suddenly screening it with 
a dropped curtain, while another cur¬ 
tain is swiftly removed from over a 
pasteboard skeleton, which can be 
made to dance either by strings, or by 
the black veiled hand holding on to it 
from behind, and the skeleton can 
change to a white cat. 

But illusions suggest themselves. 
There is no end to the effects which 
can be had from this simple apparatus, 
and if the operators are sufficiently 
well drilled the result is truly remark¬ 
able to the uninitiated. The illusion, 
as presented by Hermann, was identi¬ 
cal with this, only he, of course, had 
a big stage, and people clothed in black 
to creep about and do his bidding, 


while here the power behind the throne 
is but a black-veiled hand and arm. It 
can be made even more complicated by 
having two assistants, one on each side 
of the box, and this is the reason why 
it was advised that two holes be cut. 
This enables an absolutely instantane¬ 
ous change as one uncovers the object 
at the moment the second assistant 
covers and removes the other. 



It is important that the assistants 
remain invisible throughout, and if por¬ 
tieres are impossible, a screen must be 
used. But any boy ingenious enough 
to follow these simple instructions will 
hot need to be told that the whole suc¬ 
cess of the exhibition depends upon the 
absolute failure of the audience to 
understand that there is more than one 
concerned in bringing about the curi¬ 
ous effects which are seen. The ex¬ 
hibitor should be a boy who can talk; 
a good “patter"—as the magicians call 
it—is often of more value than a whole 
host of mechanical effects and helpers. 
It is essential that the exhibitor and 
his confederate be well drilled, so that 
























































































92 


the latter can produce the proper ef¬ 
fects at the proper cue from the former. 
Finally, never give an exhibition with 
the “cave” until you have watched the 
illusions from the front yourself; so 
that you can determine whether every¬ 
thing connected with the draping is 
right, or whether some stray bit of 
light reveals what you wish to conceal. 


Reversing-Switch for Electrical 
Experiments 

A homemade reversing-switch, suit¬ 
able for use by students of electrical 
and engineering courses in performing 
experiments, is shown in the diagram. 

Referring to Fig. 1, A represents a 
pine board 4 in. by 4 in. and a is a cir¬ 
cular piece of wood about % in. square, 
with three brass strips, b 1 , b 2 , b 3 , held 
down on it by two terminals, or bind¬ 
ing posts, c 1 , c 2 , and a common screw, 



d. Post c 1 is connected to d by means 
of an insulated wire, making them 
carry the same kind of current ( + in 
the sketch). 

About the center piece H moves a 
disk, held down by another disk F (Fig. 
2), which is fastened through the cen¬ 
ter piece to the wooden base, A, by 


means of two wood screws. On the 
disk G are two brass strips, e 1 and e 2 , 
so arranged that, when handle K is 
turned to one side, their one end just 
slips under the strips b 1 , b 2 , or b 2 , b 3 , 
respectively, making contact with 
them, as shown in Fig. 2, at L, while 
their other ends slide in two half¬ 
circular brass plates f 1 , f 2 , held down 
on disk F by two other terminals, 
c 3 , c 4 , making contact with them as 
shown at y, Fig. 2. 

The action of the switch is shown in 
Fig. 1. Connect terminal c 1 to the car¬ 
bon of a battery, and c 2 to the zinc. 
Then, if you turn handle K to the right, 
so that the strips e 1 and e 2 touch b 1 
and b 2 , respectively, terminal c 3 will 
show +, and c 1 — electricity; vice 
versa, if you turn the handle to the 
left so that e 1 and e 2 touch b 2 and 
b 3 , respectively, terminal c 3 will show 
—, and c 4 -f- electricity. 

The switch is easy to make and of 
very neat appearance. 


How to Receive Wireless Telegraph 
Messages with a Telephone 

Any telephone having carbon in the 
transmitter (all ordinary telephones 
have carbon transmitters) can be used 
to receive wireless messages by simply 
making a few changes in the connec¬ 
tions and providing a suitable antenna. 
Connect the transmitter and receiver 
in series with three dry cells and run 
one wire from the transmitter to the 
antenna. Connect the other transmit¬ 
ter wire to a water or gas pipe in order 
to ground it, and then hold the re¬ 
ceiver to your ear. Any wireless tele¬ 
graph message within a radius of one 
mile will cause the transmitter to act 
as a coherer, thus making the message 
audible in the receiver. 

By using an ordinary telephone 
transmitter and receiver and a %-in. 
jump spark coil, a complete wireless 
telegraph station may be made, which 
will send or receive messages for a 
radius of one mile. The accompanying 
wiring diagram shows how to make the 
connections. By putting in an extra 



















switch three of the sending batteries 
may be switched in when receiving, 



Wiring Diagram for Wireless Telegraph 


thus obviating the necessity of an extra 
set of batteries.—Contributed by A. E. 
Joerin. 


Connecting Up Batteries to Give Any 
Voltage 

Referring to the illustration: A is 
a five-point switch (may be home¬ 
made) ; B is a one-point switch, and C 
and C 1 are binding posts. When 
switch B is closed and A is on No. 1, 



you have the current of one battery; 
when A is on No. 2 you receive the 
current from two batteries; when on 
No. 3, from three batteries; when 
on No. 4, from four batteries, and when 


on No. 5, from five batteries. More 
batteries may be connected to each 
point of switch B. 

I have been using the same method 
for my water rheostat (homemade). 
I have the jars of water where the bat¬ 
teries are and the current coming in at 
a and b.—Contributed by Eugene F. 
Tuttle, Jr., Newark, Ohio. 


A Simple Accelerometer 

A simple accelerometer for indicat¬ 
ing the increase in speed of a train was 
described by Mr. A. P. Trotter in a 
paper read before the Junior 
Institution of Engineers of 
Great Britain. The' device 
consists of an ordinary 2-ft. 
rule, A, with a piece of 
thread tied to the 22-in. 
mark, as shown in the 
sketch, and supporting the 
small weight, B, which may 
be a button or other small 
object. 

The device thus arranged, 
and placed on the window¬ 
sill of the car, will indicate 
the acceleration and retardation as fol¬ 
lows : Every % in. traveled by the 
thread, over the bent portion of the 
rule, indicates an increase of or de¬ 
crease of velocity to the extent of 1 ft. 
per second for each second. Thus, if 
the thread moved 2 2 /i in. in a direction 
opposite to the movement of the train, 
then the train would be increasing its 
speed at the rate of 4% ft. per second. 

If the thread is tied at the 17-in. 
mark, then each half inch will repre¬ 
sent the mile per hour increase for each 
second. Thus if the thread moves 1 in., 
it shows that the train is gaining 2 
miles an hour each second. 


An Egg-Shell Funnel 

Bottles having small necks are hard 
to fill without spilling the liquid. A 
funnel cannot be used in a small 
opening, and pouring with a grad¬ 
uate glass requires a steady hand. 
When you do not have a graduate 




































































04 


at hand, a half egg-shell with a small 
hole pricked in the end will serve better 
than a funnel. Place the shell in an 
oven to brown the surface slightly and 
it will be less brittle and last much 
longer.—Contributed by Maurice Bau- 
dier, New Orleans, La. 


Handy Electric Alarm 

An electric alarm which one may 
turn off from the bed without arising 
combined with a light which may be 
turned on and off from a lying position, 
so one can see the time, is the device of 
H. E. Redmond, of Burlington, Wis. 

The alarm clock rests on a shelf, A, 



which has a piece of metal, B, fastened 
in such a position that the metal rod C, 
soldered to the alarm winder, will com¬ 
plete the circuit and ring the bell. The 
two-point switch D is closed normally 
at E, but may be closed at F any time 
desired, thus turning on the small in¬ 
candescent light G, which illuminates 
the face of the clock. When the alarm 
goes off, the bell will continue to ring 
until the switch is opened. 


To Keep Dogs and Cats Away from 
the Garbage-Can 

Last summer I was annoyed a great 
deal by dogs upsetting our garbage- 
can on the lawn, but finally executed 
a plan that rid the yard of them in one 
afternoon. 

I first secured a magneto out of an 
old telephone, then drove a spike in a 
damp place under the porch, attached 
a wire to the spike and ran the wire to 
one of the poles of the magneto. Then 


I set the garbage-can on some blocks 
of wood, being careful not to have it 
touch the ground at any point. I next 
ran a wire from the other pole of the 



magneto to the can, wrapping the wire 
around the can several times. Then I 
sat down on the porch to wait. 

It was not long before a big grey¬ 
hound came along, putting his fore¬ 
paws on the top of the can to upset it. 
At the same instant I gave the mag¬ 
neto a quick turn, which sent the dog 
away a very surprised animal. This 
was repeated several times during the 
afternoon with other dogs, and with 
the same result.—Contributed by Gor¬ 
don T. Lane, Crafton, Pa. 


How to Cross a Stream on a Log 

When crossing a water course on a 
fence rail or small log, do not face up 
or down the stream and walk side¬ 
ways, for a wetting is the inevitable 
result. Instead, fix the eye on the 
opposite shore and walk steadily 
forward. Then if a mishap comes, you 
will fall with one leg and arm en¬ 
circling the bridge.—C. C. S. 


Relay Made from Electric Bell 

It is not necessary to remove the ad¬ 
justing-screw when changing an elec- 
y frh tr * c bell into a relay, 
y ' -- Simply twist it around 

D \ as at ^ an d bend the 

< - '~ l *■ ' ' circuit-breaking con¬ 

tact back as shown. 
It may be necessary 
to remove the head of 
the screw, A, to pre¬ 
vent short-circuiting 
with the armature.— 
Contributed by A. L. Macey, New 
York City. 




















































95 


Foundry Work at Home 


I. The Equipment 

Many amateur mechanics who re¬ 
quire small metal castings in their 
work would like to make their own 
castings. This can easily be done at 
home without going to 
any great-expense, and 
the variety and useful¬ 
ness of the articles pro¬ 
duced will make the 
equipment a good in¬ 
vestment. 

With the easily made 
devices about to be de¬ 
scribed, the young me¬ 
chanic can make his 
own telegraph keys and 
sounders, battery zincs, 
binding posts, engines, 
cannons, bearings, 
small machinery parts, 
models and miniature 
objects, ornaments of 
various kinds, and du¬ 
plicates of all these, and many other 
interesting and useful articles. 

The first thing to make is a molding- 
bench, as shown in Fig. 1. It is possi¬ 
ble to make molds without a bench, but 
it is a mistake to try to do this, as the 
sand is sure to get on the floor, whence 
it is soon tracked into the house.. The 
bench will also make the operation of 
molding much easier and will prove to 
be a great convenience. 

The bench should be made of lumber 
about 1 in. thick and should be con¬ 
structed in the form of a trough, as 
shown. Two cleats, A A, should be 
nailed to the front and back to support 
the cross-boards, BB, which in turn 
support the mold while it is being 
made. The object of using the cleats 
and removable cross-boards instead of 
a stationary shelf is to give access to 
the sand, C, when it is being prepared. 

About one or two cubic feet of fine 
molding-sand will be required, which 
may be purchased at the nearest foun¬ 
dry for a small sum. Yellow sand will 


be found a little better for the ama¬ 
teur’s work than the black sand gener¬ 
ally used in most foundries, but if no 
yellow sand can be obtained the black 
kind will do. If there is no foundry 


near at hand, try using sand from other 
sources, giving preference to the finest 
sand and that which clings together in 
a cake when compressed between the 
hands. Common lake or river sand is 
not suitable for the purpose, as it is too 
coarse and will not make a good mold. 

For mixing and preparing the sand 
a small shovel, D, and a sieve, E, will 
be required. If desired the sieve may 
be homemade. Ordinary wire netting 
such as is used in screen doors, is about 
the right mesh, and this, nailed to re¬ 
place the bottom of a box, makes a very 
good sieve. 

The rammer, F, is made of wood, and 
is wedge-shaped at one end and flat at 
the other, as shown. In foundries each 
molder generally uses two rammers, 
but for the small work which will be 
described one will be sufficient. An 
old teaspoon, G, will be found useful 
in the molding operations and may be 
hung on the wall or other convenient 
place when not in use. 

The cloth bag, H, which can be made 

































96 


of a knitted stocking, is filled with coal- 
dust, which is used for a parting me¬ 
dium in making the molds. Take a 
small lump of soft coal and reduce to 
powder by pounding. Screen out all 
the coarse pieces and put the remainder 
in the bag. A slight shake of the bag 



over the mold will then cause a cloud of 
coal-dust to fall on it, thus preventing 
the two layers of sand from sticking, 
but this operation will be described 
more fully later on. 

The flask, J, Fig. 1, is shown more 
clearly in Fig. 2. It is made of wood 
and is in two halves, the “cope,” or up¬ 
per half, and the “drag,” or lower part. 
A good way to make the flask is to 
take a box, say 12 in. by 8 in. by 6 
in. high, and saw it in half longitudin¬ 
ally, as shown. If the box is not very 
strong, the corners should be braced 
with triangular wooden strips, A A, 
which should be nailed in, previous to 
sawing. The wooden strips B B are 
used to hold the sand, which would 
otherwise slide out of the flask when 
the two halves of the mold are sepa¬ 
rated. 

The dowels, CC, are a very impor¬ 
tant part of the flask as upon them de¬ 
pends the matching of the two halves 
of the mold. A wedge-shaped piece, 
CC, is nailed to each end of the cope, 
and the lower pieces, DD, are then 
nailed on the drag so that they just 
touch C when the flask is closed. The 
two halves of the flask will then occupy 


exactly the same relative position 
whenever they are put together. 

After the flask is done make two 
boards as shown at K, Fig. 1, a little 
larger than the outside of the flask. 
A couple of cleats nailed to each board 
will make it easier to pick up the mold 
when it is on the floor. 

A cast-iron glue-pot makes a very 
good crucible for melting the metal, 
which can be either aluminum, white 
metal, zinc or any other metal having 
a low melting-point. This completes 
the equipment with the exception of 
one or two simple devices which will 
now be described. 

II — How to Make a Mold 

Having finished making the flask and 
other equipment, as described, every¬ 
thing will be ready for the operation of 
molding. It would be well for those 
who have never had any experience in 
this line to visit a small brass foundry, 
where they can watch the molders at 
work, as it is much easier to learn by 
observation; but they must not expect 
to make a good mold at the first trial. 
The first attempt usually results in the 
sand dropping out of the cope when it 
is being lifted from the drag, either be¬ 
cause of insufficient ramming around 
the edges or because the sand is too 
dry. 

A good way to tell when the sand is 
moist enough is to squeeze it in the 
hand. If it forms into a cake and 
shows all the finger-marks, it has a suf¬ 
ficient amount of moisture, but if it 
crumbles or fails to cake it is too dry. 
An ordinary watering-pot will be found 
useful in moistening the sand, but care 
should be taken not to get it too wet, 
or the hot metal coming in contact 
with it when the mold is poured will 
cause such rapid evaporation that the 
mold will “boil” and make a poor cast¬ 
ing. A little practice in this operation 
will soon enable the molder to deter¬ 
mine the correct amount of moisture. 

When molding with sand for the first 
time it will be necessary to screen it all 



























97 


before using it, in order to remove 
the lumps, and if water is added, the 
sand should be thoroughly shoveled 
until the moisture is evenly distributed. 
The sand is then ready for molding. 

The operation of making a mold is 
as follows: The lower half of the 

flask, or “drag,” and the pattern to be 
molded are both placed on the cover 
board as shown at A. A quantity of 
sand sufficient to completely cover the 
pattern is then sifted into the drag, 
which is then filled level with the top 
with unscreened sand. This is 
rammed down slightly with the ram¬ 
mer, and then more sand is added until 


ming, pound evenly all over the sur¬ 
face with the blunt end of the rammer. 

After ramming, scrape off the sur¬ 
plus sand with a straight-edged stick, 
as shown at C, and scatter about tV in- 
of loose sand over the surface for a 
good bearing. Place another cover 
board on top, as shown at D, and by 
grasping with both hands, as shown, 
turn the drag other side up. Remove 
the upper cover board and place the 
upper half of the flask, or “cope,” in 
position, as shown at E. 

In order to prevent the two layers of 
sand sticking together, the surface of 
the sand at E should be covered with 



Fig- 3 —Making a Mold 


it becomes heaped up as shown at B. 
It is then rammed again as before. 

It is impossible to describe just how 
hard a mold should be rammed, but by 
observing the results the beginner can 
tell when a mold is too hard or too 
soft, and thus judge for himself. If 
the sand falls out of the flask when 
lifting the cope, or if it opens up or 
spreads after it is poured, it shows that 
the mold has been rammed too little, 
and if the surface of the sand next to 
the pattern is cracked it shows that the 
mold has been rammed too hard. It 
will be found that the edges of the 
mold can stand a little more ramming 
than the middle. In finishing the ram- 


coal-dust. This is done by shaking the 
coal-dust bag over the flask, after 
which the dust on the pattern may be 
removed by blowing. The cope is then 
filled with sand and rammed in exactly 
the same manner as in the case of the 

drag * . . , 

After the ramming is done a number 

of vent holes are made, as shown at 
F, from the surface of the mold to the 
pattern, in order to allow the escape 
of air and steam when the mold is be¬ 
ing poured. These vent holes may be 
made by pushing a wire about the size 
of a knitting-needle down through the 
sand until it touches the pattern. The 
“sprue,” or pouring-hole, is next cut, 


































































































98 


by means of the sprue-cutter shown at 
the right, which consists of a piece of 
thin brass or steel tubing about % in. 
in diameter. 

Now comes the critical part of the 
molding operation—that of lifting the 
cope from the drag. It is here that 
the amateur often becomes discouraged, 
as the sand is liable to fall out of the 
cope and spoil the mold; but with a 
little practice and patience the molder 
can lift the cope every time without 
breaking it, as shown at G. 

The next operation is that of cutting 
the gate, which carries the molten 
metal from the sprue to the opening 
left by the pattern. This is done with 
a spoon, a channel being cut about % 
in. wide and about Vi in- deep. The 
pattern is then drawn from the mold, 
as shown at H, by driving a sharp- 
pointed steel rod into the pattern and 
lifting it from the sand. When a metal 
pattern is used a thread rod is used, 
which is screwed into a tapped hole 
in the pattern. Before drawing it is 
well to tap the drawing-rod lightly 
with another and larger rod, striking 
it in all directions and thus loosening 
the sand slightly from the pattern. 
Some molders tap the pattern gently 
when withdrawing, as shown at H, in 
order to loosen any sand which has a 
tendency to stick. 

After drawing the pattern, place the 
cope back on the drag, as shown at J. 
Place a brick or other flat, heavy ob¬ 
ject on top of the mold above the pat¬ 
tern, to prevent the pressure of the 
melted metal separating the two halves 
of the mold, and then pour. 

Ill—Melting and Pouring 

Having prepared one or more molds, 
the next operation is that of melting 
and pouring. An ordinary cast-iron 
glue-pot makes a good crucible and can 
be easily handled by a pair of tongs, 
made out of steel rod, as shown in the 
sketch. In order to hold the tongs to¬ 
gether a small link can be slipped on 
over the handle, thus holding the cru¬ 
cible securely. 


A second piece of steel rod bent in 
the form of a hook at the end is very 
useful for supporting the weight of the 
crucible and prevents spilling the 
molten metal should the tongs slip off 
the crucible. The hook is also useful 
for removing the crucible from the fire, 
which should be done soon after the 
metal is entirely melted, in order to 
prevent overheating. The metal should 
be poured into the mold in a small 
stream, to give the air a chance to es¬ 
cape, and should not be poured di¬ 
rectly into the center of the opening, 
as the metal will then strike the bottom 
hard enough to loosen the sand, thus 
making a dirty casting. 



If, after being poured, the mold sput¬ 
ters and emits large volumes of steam, 
it shows that the sand is too wet, and 
the castings in such cases will probably 
be imperfect and full of holes. 

A mold made in the manner pre¬ 
viously described may be poured with 
any desired metal, but a metal which is 
easily melted will give the least trou¬ 
ble. One of the easiest metals to melt 
and one which makes very attractive 
castings is pure tin. Tin melts at a 
temperature slightly above the melting 
point of solder, and, although some¬ 
what expensive, the permanent bright¬ 
ness and silverlike appearance of the 
castings is very desirable. A good 
“white metal” may be made by mix¬ 
ing 75% tin, 15% lead, 5% zinc and 
5% antimony. The object of adding 
antimony to an alloy is to prevent 
shrinkage when cooling. 


99 


A very economical alloy is made by 
melting up all the old type-metal, bab¬ 
bitt, battery zincs, white metal and 
other scrap available, and adding a lit¬ 
tle antimony if the metal shrinks too 
much in cooling. If a good furnace is 
available, aluminum can be melted 
without any difficulty, although this 
metal melts at a higher temperature 
than any of the metals previously men¬ 
tioned. 

In casting zincs for batteries a sepa¬ 
rate crucible, used only for zinc, is very 
desirable, as the presence of a very 
small amount of lead or other impurity 
will cause the batteries to polarize. A 
very good way to make the binding 
posts is to remove the binding posts 
from worn-out dry batteries and place 
them in the molds in such a way that 
the melted zinc will flow around them. 

The time required for a casting to 
solidify varies with the size and shape 
of the casting, but unless the pattern 
is a very large one about five minutes 
will be ample time for it to set. The 
casting is then dumped out of the mold 
and the sand brushed off. The gate 
can be removed with either a cold 
chisel or a hacksaw, and the casting is 
then ready for finishing. 


Battery Switch 


In cases where batteries are used in 
series and it is desirable to change the 
strength and direction 
of the current fre¬ 
quently, the following 
device will be found 
most convenient. In 
my own case I used 
four batteries, but 
any reasonable num¬ 
ber may be used. Re¬ 
ferring to the figure, 
it will be seen that 
by moving the switch 
A toward the left the 



current can be reduced from four bat¬ 
teries to none, and then, by moving 
the switch B toward the right the cur¬ 
rent can be turned on in the opposite 


direction to the desired strength. In 
the various positions of these two 
switches the current from each indi¬ 
vidual cell, or from any adjacent pair 
of cells, may be used in either direc¬ 
tion.—Contributed by Harold S. Mor¬ 
ton, Minneapolis. 


An Optical Illusion 

The engraving shows a perfectly 
straight boxwood rule laid over a num¬ 
ber of turned brass rings of various 
sizes. Although the effect in the illus¬ 



tration is less pronounced than it was 
in reality, it will be noticed that the 
rule appears to be bent, but sighting 
along the rule from one end will show 
that it is perfectly straight. 

The brass rings also appear distorted. 
The portions on one side of the 
rule do not appear to be a continua¬ 
tion of those on the other, but that 
they really are can be proved by sight¬ 
ing in the same manner as before.— 
Contributed by Draughtsman, Chicago. 


New Method of Lifting a Table 

To perform this feat effectively the 
little device illustrated will be required. 
To make it take a sheet-iron band, A, 
% in. wide and attach a strap to fasten 
on the forearm between 
the wrist and elbow. Put 
a sharp needle point, B, 
through the sheet-iron so 
that it extends % in. out¬ 
ward. Make one of these 
pieces for each arm. 

In lifting the table first 
show the hands unpre¬ 
pared to the audience and also a light 
table, removing the cover to show that 
the surface of the table is not prepared 
in any way. Then replace the table, 




















100 


rest the hands upon it and at the same 
time press the needle points in the arm 
pieces into the wood of the table, which 
will be sufficient to hold it, says a 
correspondent of the Sphinx. Then 
walk down among the audience. 


How to Make a Paddle Boat 

A rowboat has several disadvantages. 
The operation of the oars is both tire¬ 
some and uninteresting, and the oars¬ 
man is obliged to travel backward. 



By replacing the oars with paddles, as 
shown in the illustration, the operator 
can see where he is going and enjoy 
the exercise much better than with 
oars. He can easily steer the boat 
with his feet, by means of a pivoted 
stick in the bottom of the boat, con¬ 
nected by cords to the rudder. 

At the blacksmith shop have a %-in. 
shaft made, as shown at A, Fig. 2. It 
will be necessary to furnish a sketch 
giving all the dimensions of the 
shaft, which should be designed 
to suit the dimensions of the 
boat, taking care that sufficient 
clearance is allowed, so that the 
cranks in revolving will not 
strike the operator’s knees. If 
desired, split-wood handles may 
be placed on the cranks, to pre¬ 
vent them from rubbing the 
hands. 

The bearings, B, may be made 
of hardwood, but preferably of iron 
pipe filled with melted babbitt. If 
babbitt is used, either thoroughly 
smoke or chalk the shaft or wrap paper 
around it to prevent the babbitt stick¬ 
ing. The pieces of pipe may be then 
fastened to the boat by means of small 
pipe straps, such as may be obtained 
at any plumber’s at a very small cost. 


The hubs, C, should be made of 
wood, drilled to fit the shaft and mor¬ 
tised out to hold the paddles, D. The 
covers, E, may be constructed of thin 
wood or galvanized iron and should be 
braced by triangular boards, as shown 
in Fig. 1. If galvanized iron is used, 
it should be exposed to the weather 
two or three months before painting, 
or the paint will come off, spoiling its 
appearance. 


Peculiar Properties of Ice 

Of all the boys who make snowballs 
probably few know what occurs during 
the process. Under ordinary condi¬ 
tions water turns to ice when the tem¬ 
perature falls to 32°, but when in mo¬ 
tion, or under pressure, much lower 
temperatures are required to make it a 
solid. In the same way, ice which is 
somewhat below the freezing point can 
be made liquid by applying pressure, 
and will remain liquid until the pres¬ 
sure is removed, when it will again re¬ 
turn to its original state. Snow, being 
simply finely divided ice, becomes 
liquid in places when compressed by 
the hands, and when the pressure is 
removed the liquid portions solidify 
and unite all the particles in one mass. 
In extremely cold weather it is almost 


impossible to make a snowball, be¬ 
cause a greater amount of pressure 
is then required to make the snow 
liquid. 

This process of melting and freezing 
under different pressures and a con¬ 
stant temperature is well illustrated 
by the experiment shown in Figs. 1, 2 
and 3. A block of ice, A, Fig. 1 , is sup- 






























101 





ported at each end by boxes BB, and 
a weight, W, is hung on a wire loop 
which passes around the ice as shown. 
The pressure of the wire will then melt 
the ice and allow the wire to sink down 
through the ice as shown in Fig. 2. 
The wire will continue to cut its way 
through the ice until it passes all the 
way through the piece, as shown in 
Fig. 3. This experiment not only il¬ 
lustrates how ice melts under pressure, 
but also how it solidifies when the pres¬ 
sure is removed, for the block will still 
be left in one piece after the wire has 
passed through. 

Another peculiar property of ice is 
its tendency to flow. It may seem 
strange that ice should flow like water, 
but the glaciers of Switzerland and 
other countries are literally rivers of 
ice. The snow which accumulates on 
the mountains in vast quantities is 
turned to ice as a result of the enor¬ 
mous pressure caused by its own 
weight, and flows through the natural 
channels it has made in the rock until 
it reaches the valley below. In flow¬ 
ing through these channels it fre¬ 
quently passes around bends, and when 
two branches come together the bodies 
of ice unite the same as water would 
under the same conditions. The rate 
of flow is often very slow; sometimes 
only one or two feet a day, but, no 
matter how slow the motion may be, 
the large body of ice has to bend in 
moving. 

This property of ice is hard to illus¬ 
trate with the substance itself, but may 
be clearly shown by sealing-wax, which 
resembles ice in this respect. Any at¬ 
tempt to bend a piece of cold sealing- 


wax with the hands results in break¬ 
ing it, but by placing it between books, 
as shown on page 65, or supporting 
it in some similar way, it will grad¬ 
ually change from the original shape 
A, and assume the shape shown at B. 


Return-Call Bell With One Wire 

To use only one wire for a return- 
call bell connect up as shown in the 
diagram, using a closed circuit or grav¬ 
ity battery, B. The current is flowing 
through both bells all the time, the 
same as the coils of a telegraph 
sounder, but is not strong enough to 
ring both connected in series. Pressing 



either push button, P, makes a short 
circuit of that bell and rings the one at 
the other end of the line.—Contributed 
by Gordon T. Lane, Crafton, Pa. 


Circuit Breaker for Induction Coils 

Amateurs building induction coils 
are generally bothered by the vibrator 
contacts blackening, thus giving a high 
resistance contact, whenever there is 
any connection made at all. This 
trouble may be done away with by de¬ 
parting from the old single-contact vi¬ 
brator and using one with self-cleaning 





















































102 


contacts as shown. An old bell mag¬ 
net is rewound full of No. 26 double 
cotton-covered wire and is mounted 



upon one end of a piece of thin sheet 
iron 1 in. by 5 in. as per sketch. To 
the other end of the strip of iron is sol¬ 
dered a piece of brass 1/64 in. by % in. 
by 2 in., on each end of which has been 
soldered a patch of platinum foil % in. 
square. 

The whole is connected up and 
mounted on a baseboard as per sketch, 
the contact posts being of tV in. by % 
in. brass, bent into shape and provided 
with platinum tipped thumb screws. 
The advantage of this style of an in¬ 
terrupter is that at each stroke there is 
a wiping effect at the heavy current 
contact which automatically cleans off 
any carbon deposit. 

In the wiring diagram, A is the cir¬ 
cuit breaker; B, the induction coil, and 
C, the battery.—Contributed by A. G. 
Ward, Wilkinsburg, Pa. 


Spit Turned by Water Power 

Many of the Bulgarian peasants do 
their cooking in the open air over bon¬ 
fires. The illustration shows a labor- 
saving machine in use which enables 
the cook to go away and leave meat 
roasting for an hour at a time. The 



illustration shows how the spit to 
which the meat is fastened is constantly 
turned by means of a slowly moving 


water wheel. Some of our readers may 
wish to try the scheme when camping 
out. The success depends upon a slow 
current, for a fast-turning wheel will 
burn the meat. 


A Short-Distance Wireless Telegraph 

The accompanying diagrams show a 
wireless-telegraph system that I have 
used successfully for signaling a dis¬ 
tance of 3,000 ft. The transmitter con¬ 
sists of an induction coil, about the 
size used for automobiles, a key or 
push-button for completing the circuit, 
and five dry batteries. The small sin¬ 
gle-point switch is left open as shown 
when sending a message, but when 
receiving it should be closed in order 
that the electric waves from the an¬ 
tenna may pass through the coherer. 
The coherer in this case is simply two 
electric-light carbons sharpened to a 
wedge at one end with a needle con- 



Wiring Diagram for Wireless Telegraph 


necting the two, as shown. An ordi¬ 
nary telephone receiver is connected 
in series with the coherer, as shown. 
To receive messages hold the receiver 
to the ear and close the switch, and an¬ 
swer by opening the switch and operat¬ 
ing the key.—Contributed by Coulson 
Glick, Indianapolis. 


Automatic Draft-Opener 

A simple apparatus that will open 
the draft of the furnace at any hour 
desired is illustrated. The parts are: 
A, furnace; B, draft; C, draft chain; 
D, pulleys; E, wooden supports; F, 
vertical lever; G, horizontal lever; H, 





































































103 


cord; I, alarm clock; J, weight. K 
shows where and how the draft is reg¬ 
ulated during the day, the automatic 



Draft Regulator 

device being used to open it early in 
the morning. The spool on the alarm 
clock is fastened to the alarm key by 
sawing a slit across the top of the 
spool and gluing it on. When the 
alarm goes off a cord is wound up on 
the spool and pulls the horizontal lever 
up, which releases the vertical lever and 
allows the weight to pull the draft 
open.—Contributed by Gordon Davis, 
Kalamazoo, Mich. 


A Window Conservatory 

During the winter months, where 
house plants are kept in the home, it 
is always a question how to arrange 
them so they can get the 
necessary light without oc¬ 
cupying too much room. 

The sketch shows how a 
neat window conservatory 
may be made at small cost 
that can be fastened on the 
house just covering a win¬ 
dow, which will provide a 
fine place for the plants. The 
frame (Fig. 2) is made of 
about 2 by 2-in. material 
framed together as shown in 
Fig. 3. This frame should 
be made with the three 
openings of such a size that 
a four-paned sash, such as 
used for a storm window, 


will fit nicely in them. If the four ver¬ 
tical pieces that are shown in Fig. 2 
are dressed to the right angle, then it 
will be easy to put on the finishing cor¬ 
ner boards that hold the sash. 

The top, as well as the bottom, is 
constructed with two small pieces like 
the rafters, on which is nailed the 
sheathing boards and then the shingles 
on top and the finishing boards on the 
bottom. 


How to Make an Electroscope 

An electroscope for detecting electri¬ 
fied bodies may be made out of a piece 
of note paper, a cork and a needle. 
Push the needle into the cork, and cut 
the paper in the shape of a small ar¬ 
row. Balance the arrow on the needle 



as shown in the sketch, and the instru¬ 
ment will then be complete. If a piece 
of paper is then heated over a lamp or 
stove and rubbed with a piece of cloth 
or a small broom, the arrow will turn 
when the paper is brought near it.— 
Contributed by Wm. W. Grant, Hali¬ 
fax, N. S., Canada. 





Artistic Window Boxes 
















































































104 


Miniature Electric Lighting 

Producing electric light by means of 
small bulbs that give from one-half to 
six candle power, and a suitable source 
of power, is something that will inter¬ 
est the average American boy. 

These circular bulbs range from % 
to 2 in. in diameter, and cost 27 cents 



each complete with base. They are 
commonly known as miniature battery 
bulbs, since a battery is the most popu¬ 
lar source of power. The %-cp. bulbs 
are usually 2% volts and take % 
ampere of current. It requires about 
three medium dry cells to operate it. 
However, there is now upon the 
market a battery consisting of 3 small 
dry cells connected in series, put up 
in a neat case with 2 binding posts, 
which sells for 25 cents. This is more 
economical than dry cells, as it gives 
about 4 volts and 3 amperes. It will 
run as large a lamp as volts, 1 cp., 
for some time very satisfactorily. More 
than one lamp can be run by connect¬ 
ing the bulbs in parallel, as indicated 
by Fig. 1, which shows the special bat¬ 
tery with 3 dry cells in the case, and 
the 2 binding posts for connection with 



Fig.2 


the bulbs. In this case it is also ad¬ 
visable to connect several batteries in 
parallel also, so as to increase the cur¬ 


rent, but maintain the voltage constant. 
Thus, the individual cells are in multi¬ 
ple series, i. e., multiples of series of 
three. By keeping in mind the ampere 
output of the battery and rating of the 
lamp, one can regulate the batteries as 
required. It must be remembered, in 
this connection, that any battery which 
is drawn upon for half of its output will 
last approximately three times as long, 
as if drawn upon for its total output. 
Thus, in any system of lamps, it is 
economical to provide twice as many 
batteries as necessary. This also sup¬ 
plies a means of still maintaining the 
candle power when the batteries are 
partially exhausted, by connecting 
them in series. However, this must be 
done with very great caution, as the 
lights will be burnt out if the voltage 
is too high. 

Persons living in the city will find an 
economical means of lighting lamps by 
securing exhausted batteries from any 
garage, where they are glad to have 
them taken away. A certain number 
of these, after a rest, can be connected 
up in series, and will give the proper 
voltage. 

In conclusion, for battery power: 
Connecting batteries in series increases 
the voltage, and slightly cuts down the 
current or amperage, which is the same 
as that of one battery; while connect¬ 
ing batteries in parallel increases the 
amperage, but holds the voltage the 
same as that of one cell. Thus, if the 
voltage and amperage of any cell be 
known, by the proper combination of 
these, we can secure the required volt¬ 
age and amperage to light any minia¬ 
ture lamp. And it might be said that 
dry cells are the best for this purpose, 
especially those of low internal resist¬ 
ance. 

For those having a good water sup¬ 
ply there is a more economical means 
of maintenance, although the first cost 
is greater. Fig. 2 shows the scheme. 
A small dynamo driven by a water 
motor attached to a faucet, generates 
the power for the lights. The cost of 
the smallest outfit of the kind is about 
$3 for the water motor and $4 for the 









































105 


dynamo. This dynamo has an output 
of 12 watts, and will produce from 18 
to 25 cp., according to the water pres¬ 
sure obtainable. It is advisable to 
install the outfit in the basement, 
where the water pressure is the great¬ 
est, and then lead No. 18 B & S. double- 
insulated wire wherever needed. The 
dynamo can also be used as a motor, 


© 000000000)0 

©©©©©©©©OO© 


WIRES TO DYNAMO 



and is wound for any voltage up to 
ten. The winding should correspond 
to the voltage of the lamps which you 
desire to run. However, if wound for 
6 volts, one could run parallel series of 
two 3-volt, 1-cp. lamps; making, as in 
Fig. 3,11 series, or 22 lights. If wound 
for 10 volts, it would give 1^4 amperes 
and run four 6-cp. lamps. Thus, it will 
be seen that any candle power lamp 
can be operated by putting the proper 
number of lights in each series, and 
running the series in parallel. So, to 
secure light by this method, we simply 
turn on the water, and the water con¬ 
sumption is not so great as might be 
imagined. 

For the party who has electric light 
in his house there is still an easier solu¬ 
tion for the problem of power. If the 
lighting circuit gives 110 volts he can 
connect eleven 10-volt lamps in series. 
These will give 3 cp. each, and the 
whole set of 11 will take one ampere 
of current, and cost about the same as 
a 32-cp. lamp, or 1 % cents per hour. 
Simply connect the miniature circuit 
to an Edison plug, and insert in the 
nearest lamp socket. Any number of 
different candle power lamps can be 
used providing each lamp takes the 
same amount of current, and the sum 
of their voltages equals the voltage of 
the circuit used. This arrangement of 
small lights is used to produce a widely 
distributed, and diffused light in a 
room, for display of show cases, and 
for Christmas trees. Of all these 


sources of power the two last are the 
most economical, and the latter of these 
two has in its favor the small initial 
cost. These lamps are by no means 
playthings or experiments, but are as 
serviceable and practical as the larger 
lamps.—Contributed by Lindsay El- 
dridge, Chicago. 


How to Make a New Language 

Anyone possessing a phonograph can 
try a very interesting and amusing ex¬ 
periment without going to any ex¬ 
pense. Remove the belt and replace 
with a longer one, which can be made 
of narrow braid or a number of strands 
of yarn. The new belt should be long 
enough to allow crossing it, thus re¬ 
versing the machine. This reverses 
every sound on the record and changes 
it to such an extent that very few words 
can be recognized. 

How to Make a Cup-and-Saucer Rack 

The rack is made of any suitable 
kind of wood, and the sides, A, are cut 
just alike, or from one pattern. The 
shelves are made in 
various widths to 
fit the sides at the 
places where they 
are wanted. The 
number of shelves 
can be varied and 
to suit the size of 
the dishes. Cup 
hooks are placed on top and bottom 
shelves. It is hung on the wall the 
same as a picture from the molding. 
—Contributed by F. B. Emig, Santa 
Clara, Cal. 


Reversing a Small Motor 

All that is necessary for reversing the 
motor is a pole-changing switch. Con¬ 
nect the two middle posts of the switch 
with each other and the two outside 
posts with each other. Then connect 
one of the outside posts of the switch 
to one brush of the motor and one 
middle post to the other brush. 

Connect one bar of the switch to one 




















106 


end of the field coil and the other bar 
to one pole of the battery, and connect 
the other pole of the battery to the 
other field coil. To reverse the motor, 
simply change the switch. 



Referring to the illustration, the 
letters indicate as follows: FF, field of 
motor; BB, brushes of motor; AA, 
bars of pole-changing switch ; DD, cen¬ 
ter points of switch; CC, outside points 
of switch.—Contributed by Leonard E. 
Parker, Plymouth, Ind. 


To Drive Away Dogs 

The dogs in my neighborhood used 
to come around picking up scraps. 
After I connected up my induction coil, 
as shown in the sketch, we were not 
bothered with them. A indicates the 
ground; B, switch; and C, a bait of 
meat, or a tempting bone.—Contrib- 



Shocking-Machine 


uted by Geo. W. Fry, 903 Vine St., San 
Jose, Cal. 


An Automatic Lock 

The illustration shows an automatic 
lock operated by electricity, one cell 
being sufficient. When the circuit is 
broken a weight, A, attached to the end 
of the armature B, tends to push the 
other end of the armature into the 
screw eye or hook C, which is in the 
door, thus locking the door. 


To unlock the door, merely push the 
button E. The magnet then draws the 
armature out of the screw eye and the 
door is unlocked. The dotted line at 
D shows the position of the armature 
when the circuit is complete and the 
door unlocked. The weight must be 
in proportion to the strength of the 
magnet. If it is not, the door will not 



lock, or would remain locked. The but¬ 
ton can be hidden, as it is the key to 
the lock.—Contributed by Claude B. 
Melchior, Hutchinson, Minn. 


Experiment with Two-Foot Rule 
and Hammer 

An example of unstable equilibrium 
is shown in the accompanying sketch. 
All that is needed is a 2-foot rule, a 
hammer, a piece of string, and a table 
or bench. The experiment works best 



An Experiment in Equilibrium 






































































107 i 


with a hammer having a light handle 
and a very heavy head. 

Tie the ends of the string together, 
forming a loop, and pass this around 
the hammer handle and rule. Then 
place the apparatus on the edge of the 
table, where it will remain suspended 
as shown.—Contributed by Geo. P. 
Schmidt, Culebra, Porto Rico, W. I. 


Simple Current Reverser 

On a block of hardwood draw a 
square (Fig. 1) and drill a hole in eadi 
corner of the square. Fill these holes 
with mercury and connect them to four 
binding posts (Fig. 1). 

On another block of wood fasten two 
wires, as shown in Fig. 2, so that their 
ends can be placed in the holes in the 
first block. Then connect up with the 



motor and battery as in Fig. 3. When 
the block is placed on with the big 
arrow A pointing in the direction in¬ 
dicated in Fig. 3, the current flows with 
the small arrows. To reverse turn 
through an angle of 90 degrees (Fig. 
4). — Contributed by F. Crawford 
Curry, Brockville, Ontario, Canada. 


Alarm Clock to Pull up Furnace Draft 

A stout cord, A, is attached to the 
draft B of the furnace, run through a 
pulley, C, in the ceiling and has a win¬ 
dow weight, D, attached at the other 
end. A small stick is put through a 
loop in the cord at about the level of 
the table top on which the alarm clock 
F stands. The other end of stick E 


is placed under the key G of the alarm 
clock. When the alarm rings in the 
early morning, the key turns, the stick 



falls away, releasing the weight, which 
pulls the draft open.—Contributed by 
Edward Whitney, 18 Gorham St., 
Madison, Wis. 


How to Transmit Phonograph Music 
to a Distance 

An interesting experiment, and one 
calculated to mystify any one not in 
the secret, is to transmit the music or 
speech from a phonograph to another 
part of the house or even a greater dis¬ 
tance. For an outdoor summer party 
the music can be made to come from a 
bush, or tree, or from a bed of flowers. 
The apparatus is not difficult to con¬ 
struct. 

The cut shows the arrangement. Pro¬ 
cure a long-distance telephone trans¬ 
mitter, D, including the mouthpiece, 
and fasten it to the reproducer of the 
phonograph. Also a watch case re- 

































































108 


ceiver, R, which fasten to the horn. 
These parts may be purchased from 
any electrical-supply house. Connect 
two wires to the transmitter, running 
one direct to the receiver, and the other 
to the battery, thence to a switch, S, 
and then to the receiver. The more 
batteries used the louder will be the 
sound produced by the horn, but avoid 
using too much battery or the receiver 
is apt to heat.—Contributed by Wm. 
J. Farley, Jr., Camden, N. J. 


How to Make a Telescope 

With a telescope like the one here 
described, made with his own hands, 
a farmer boy not many years ago dis¬ 
covered a comet which had escaped the 
watchful eyes of many astronomers. 

First, get two pieces of plate glass, 
6 in. square and 1 in. thick, and break 
the corners off to make them round, 
grinding the rough edges on a grind¬ 
stone. Use a barrel to work on, and 



fasten one glass on the top of it in the 
center by driving three small nails at 
the sides to hold it in place. Fasten, 
with pitch, a round 4-in. block of wood 
in the center on one side of the other 
glass to serve as a handle. 

Use wet grain emery for coarse 


grinding. Take a pinch and spread 
it evenly on the glass which is on the 
barrel, then take the glass with the 
handle and move it back and forth 
across the lower glass, while walking 
around the barrel; also rotate the 
glass, which is necessary to make it 
grind evenly. The upper glass or spec¬ 
ulum always becomes concave, and 
the under glass or tool convex. 

Work with straight strokes 5 or 6 
in. in length; after working 5 hours 
hold the speculum in the sunshine and 
throw the rays of the sun onto a 
paper; where the rays come to a point 
gives the focal length. If the glass is 
not ground enough to bring the rays 
to a point within 5 ft., the coarse 
grinding must be continued, unless a 
longer focal length is wanted. 

Have ready six large dishes, then 
take 2 lb. flour emery and mix in 12 
qt. of water; immediately turn the 
water into a clean dish and let settle 
30 seconds; then turn it into another 
dish and let settle 2 minutes, then 8 
minutes, 30 minutes and 90 minutes, 
being careful not to turn off the 
coarser emery which has settled. When 
dry, turn the emery from the 5 jars 
into 5 separate bottles, and label. Then 
take a little of the coarsest powder, 
wetting it to the consistency of cream, 
and spread on the glass, work as be¬ 
fore (using short straight strokes 1 % 
or 2 in.) until the holes in the glass 
left by the grain emery are ground 
out; next use the finer grades until the 
pits left by each coarser grade are 
ground out. When the two last 
grades are used shorten the strokes to 
less than 2 in. When done the glass 
should be semi-transparent, and is 
ready for polishing. 

When polishing the speculum, paste 
a strip of paper 1% in. wide around 
the convex glass or tool, melt 1 lb. of 
pitch and turn on to it and press with 
the wet speculum. Mold the pitch 
while hot into squares of 1 in., with 
^4-in. spaces, as in Fig. 1. Then warm 
and press again with the speculum, 
being careful to have all the squares 







109 


touch the speculum, or it will not pol¬ 
ish evenly. Trim the paper from the 
edge with a sharp knife, and paint the 
squares separately with jeweler’s rouge, 
wet till soft like paint. Use a binger 
to spread it on with. Work the spec¬ 
ulum over the tool the same as when 
grinding, using straight strokes 2 in. 
or less. 

When the glass is polished enough 
to reflect some light, it should be tested 
with the knife-edge test. In a dark 
room, set the speculum against the 
wall, and a large lamp, L, Fig. 2, twice 
the focal length away. Place a large 
sheet of pasteboard, A, Fig. 2, with a 
small needle hole opposite the blaze, 
by the side of the lamp, so the light 



from the blaze will shine onto the glass. 
Place the speculum S, Fig. 2, so the 
rays from the needle hole will be 
thrown to the left side of the lamp 
(facing the speculum), with the knife 
mounted in a block of wood and edge¬ 
ways to the lamp, as in K, Fig. 2. The 
knife should not be more than 6 in. 
from the lamp. Now move the knife 
across the rays from left to right, and 
look at the speculum with the eye on 
the right side of the blade. When the 
focus is found, if the speculum is 
ground and polished evenly it will 
darken evenly over the surface as the 
knife shuts off the light from the 
needle hole. If not, the speculum will 
show some dark rings, or hills. If the 
glass seems to have a deep hollow in 
the center, shorter strokes should be 
used in polishing; if a hill in the cen¬ 
ter, longer strokes. The polishing and 


testing done, the speculum is ready to 
be silvered. Two glass or earthen¬ 
ware dishes, large enough to hold the 
speculum and 2 in. deep, must be pro¬ 
cured. With pitch, cement a strip of 
board 8 in. long to the back of the spec¬ 
ulum, and lay the speculum face down 
in one of the dishes; fill the dish 
with distilled water, and clean the face 
of the speculum with nitric acid, un¬ 
til the water will stick to it in an un¬ 
broken film. 

The recipe for silvering the speculum 
is: 


Solution A: 

Distilled water. 4 oz, 

Silver nitrate.100 gr. 

Solution B: 

Distilled water.•. 4 oz. 

Caustic stick potash (pure by alcohol).100 gr. 

Solution C: 

Aqua Ammonia. 

Solution D: 

Sugar loaf.840 gr. 

Nitric acid.39 gr. 

Alcohol (jpure).25 gr. 


Mix solution D and make up to 25 
fluid oz. with distilled water, pour into 
a bottle and carefully put away in a 
safe place for future use, as it works 
better when old. 

Now take solution A and set aside 
in a small bottle one-tenth of it, and 
pour the rest into the empty dish; add 
the ammonia solution drop by drop; 
a dark brown precipitate will form and 
subside; stop adding ammonia solution 
as soon as the bath clears. Then add 
solution B, then ammonia until bath is 
clear. Now add enough of the solution 
A, that was set aside, to bring the bath 
to a warm saffron color without de¬ 
stroying its transparency. Then add 1 
oz. of solution D and stir until bath 
grows dark. Place the speculum, face 
down, in the bath and leave until the 
silver rises, then raise the speculum and 
rinse with distilled water. The small 
flat mirror may be silvered the same 
way. When dry, the silver film may 
be polished with a piece of chamois 
skin, touched with rouge, the polish¬ 
ing being accomplished by means of a 
light spiral stroke. 

Fig. 3 shows the position of the 
glasses in the tube, also how the rays 
R from a star are thrown to the eye¬ 
piece E in the side of the tube. Make 





























110 


the tube I of sheet iron, cover with 
paper and cloth, then paint to make a 
non-conductor of heat or cold. Make 
the mounting of good seasoned lumber. 

Thus an excellent 6-in. telescope can 
be made at home, with an outlay of only 
a few dollars. My telescope is 64 in. 
long and cost me just $15, but I used 
all my spare time in one winter in mak¬ 
ing it. I first began studying the 
heavens through a spyglass, but an in¬ 
strument such as I desired would cost 
$200—more than I could afford. Then 
I made the one described, with which 
I discovered a new comet not before 
observed by astronomers.—John E. 
Mellish. 


How to Make “Freak” Photographs 

The “freak” pictures of well-known 
people which were used by some daily 
newspapers recently made 
everybody wonder how 
the distorted photographs 
were made. A writer in 
Camera Craft gives the 
secret, which proves to be 
easy of execution. The 
distortion is accomplished 
by the use of prisms, as 
follows: Secure from an 
optician or leaded-glass establish¬ 
ment, two glass prisms, slightly wider 
than the lens mount. The flatter they 
are the less they will distort. About 
20' deg. is a satisfactory angle. Secure 
them as shown by the sectional sketch, 
using strawboard and black paper. 
Then make a ring to fit over the lens 
mount and connect it with the prisms 
in such a way as to exclude all light 
from the camera except that which 
passes through the face of the prisms. 
The inner surface of this hood must be 



VELVET 


dull black. The paper which comes 
around plates answers nicely. If the 
ring which slips over the lens mount 
is lined with black velvet, it will ex¬ 
clude all light and hold firmly to the 
mount* Place over lens, stop down 
well after focusing, and proceed as for 
any picture. 


Another Electric Lock 

The details of the construction of an 
electrically operated lock are shown in 
the illustration. When the door is 
closed and the bolt A pushed into posi¬ 



tion, it automatically locks. To unlock, 
push the button D, which act will cause 
the electromagnet to raise the latch C, 
when the bolt may be drawn and the 
door opened.—Contributed by A. D. 
Zimmerman, Boody, Ill. 


How to Mix Plaster of Paris 

For the mixing of plaster of Paris 
for any purpose, add the plaster grad¬ 
ually to the water, instead of the con¬ 
trary, says the Master Painter. Do 
not stir it, just sprinkle it in until you 
have a creamy mass without lumps. 
Equal parts of plaster and water is 
approximately the correct proportion. 
The addition of a little vinegar or glue 
water will retard the setting of the 
plaster, but will not preserve its hard¬ 
ening. Marshmallow powder also re¬ 
tards the setting. In this way the 
plaster may be handled a long time 
without getting hard. If you wish the 



Arrangement of Prisms 








































. Ill 


plaster to set extra hard, then add a 
little sulphate of potash, or powdered 

alum. 


Enlarging with a Hand Camera 

Everyone who owns a hand camera 
has some pictures he would like en¬ 
larged. It is not necessary to have a 
large camera to do this, as the process 
is exceedingly simple to 
make large pictures from 
small negatives with the 
same hand camera. 

A room from which all 
light may be excluded and 
a window through which 
the light can enter without 
obstruction from trees or 
nearby buildings, with a 
shelf to hold the camera 
and a table with an up¬ 
right drawing-board at¬ 
tached, complete the arrangement. 
The back is taken out of the camera 
and fitted close against the back of 
the shelf, which must be provided with 
a hole the same size and shape as the 
opening in the back of the camera. 
The negative used to make the en¬ 
larged print is placed in the shelf at A, 
Fig. 1. The rays of the clear, unob¬ 
structed light strike the mirror, B, and 
reflect through the negative, A, 
through the lens of the camera and on 
the board, as shown in Fig. 2. The 
window must be darkened all around 
the shelf. 

After placing the negative and fo¬ 
cusing the lens for a clear image on 
the board, the shutter is set and a bro¬ 
mide paper is placed on the board. 
The paper is exposed, developed and 
fixed by the directions that are in¬ 
closed in the package of bromide 
papers. 


GDon’t pull a lamp hung by flexible 
cord to one side with a wire and then 
fasten to a gas pipe. I have seen a 
wire become red hot in this manner. 
If the lamp hung by a cord must be 
pulled over, use a string. 


A Curious Compressed-Air 
Phenomenon 

Push a pin through an ordinary 
business card and place the card 
against one end of a spool with the pin 
inside the bore, as shown in the sketch. 
Then blow through the spool, and it 
will be found that the card will not be 
blown away, but will remain suspended 


without any visible support. This 
phenomenon is explained by the fact 
that the air radiates from the center 
at a velocity which is nearly constant, 
thereby producing a partial vacuum 
between the spool and the card. Can 


Experiment with Spool and Card 

the reader devise a practical application 
of this contrivance? 


Simple Switch for Reversing a Current 

Take two strips of copper or brass 
and fasten them together by means of 
gutta-percha (Fig. 1); also provide 
them with a handle. Saw out a rect¬ 
angular block about one and one-half 
times as long as the brass strips and 
fasten to it at each end two forked 
pieces of copper or brass, as in Fig. 2. 
Fasten on the switch lever, as at A and 






































112 


B, Fig. 2, so that it can rotate about 
these points. Connect the wires as 
shown in Fig. 3. To reverse, throw 



the lever from one end of the block to 
the other.—Contributed by R. L. 
Thomas, San Marcos, Tex. 


Novel Mousetrap 

A piece of an old bicycle tire and a 
glass fruit jar are the only materials 
required for making this trap. Push 
one end of the tire into the hole, mak¬ 
ing sure that there is a space left at the 
end so that the mice can get in. Then 



bend the other end down into a fruit 
jar or other glass jar. Bait may be 
placed in the jar if desired, although 
this is not necessary.—Contributed by 
Geo. G. McVicker, North Bend, Neb. 


GA brilliant polish may be given to 
tarnished nickel by immersing in alco¬ 
hol and 2 per cent of sulphuric acid 
from 5 to 15 seconds. Take out, wash 
in running water, rinse in alcohol, and 
rub dry with linen cloth. 


Homemade Arc Light 

By rewinding an electric-bell mag¬ 
net with No. 16 wire and connecting 
it in series with two electric-light car¬ 
bons, as shown in 
the sketch, a small 
arc will be formed 
between the carbon 
points when the cur¬ 
rent is applied. In 
the sketch, A is the 
electric-bell magnet; 

B, the armature; 

C C, carbon sockets; 

D, carbons, and E 

E, binding posts. 

When connected 
with 10 or 12 dry 
batteries this lamp 
gives a fairly good light.—Contributed 
by Morris L. Levy, San Antonio, Tex. 



Lighting an Incandescent Lamp with 
an Induction Coil 

An incandescent lamp of low candle- 
power may be illuminated by connect¬ 
ing to an induction coil in the manner 
shown in the sketch. One wire is con¬ 
nected to the metal cap of the lamp 
and the other wire is fastened to the 
glass tip. If the apparatus is then 
placed in the dark and the current 
turned on, a peculiar phosphorescent 
glow will fill the whole interior of the 
lamp. The induction coil used for this 
purpose should, give a spark about % 
in. long or more.—Contributed by Jo¬ 
seph B. Bell, Brooklyn. 



Geissler Tube 
























































113 


How to Make a Jump-Spark Coil 


The induction coil is probably the 
most popular piece of apparatus in the 
electrical laboratory, and particularly 
is it popular because of its use in 
experimental wireless telegraphy. Ten 
years ago wireless telegraphy was a 
dream of scientists; today it is the 
plaything of school-boys and thousands 
of grown-up boys as well. 

Divested of nearly all 
technical phrases, an in¬ 
duction coil may be briefly 
described as a step-up 
transformer of small ca¬ 
pacity. It comprises a 
core consisting of a cylin¬ 
drical bundle of soft-iron 
wires cut to proper length. 

By means of two or more 
layers of No. 14 or No. 16 
magnet wire, wound evenly 
about this core, the bundle 
becomes magnetized when 
the wire terminals are con¬ 
nected to a source of elec¬ 
tricity. 

Should we now slip over this electro¬ 
magnet a paper tube upon which has 
been wound with regularity a great 
and continuous length of No. 36 mag¬ 
net wire, it will be found that the lines 
of force emanating from the energized 
core penetrate the new coil-winding 
almost as though it were but a part of 
the surrounding air itself, and when 
the battery current is broken rapidly 
a second electrical current is said to be 
induced into the second coil or sec¬ 
ondary. 

All or any of the parts of an induc¬ 
tion coil may be purchased ready-made, 
and the first thing to do is to decide 
which of the parts the amateur me¬ 
chanic can make and which would be 
better to buy ready-made. If the 
builder has had no experience in coil¬ 
winding it would probably pay to pur¬ 
chase the secondary coil ready-wound, 
as the operation of winding a mile or 
more of fine wire is very difficult and 
tedious, and the results are often un¬ 
satisfactory. In ordering the second¬ 


ary it is always necessary to specify 
the length of spark desired. 

The following method of completing 
a 1-in. coil illustrates the general de¬ 
tails of the work. The same methods 
and circuits apply to small and larger 
coils. The ready-made secondary is in 
solid cylindrical form, about 6 in. long 
and 2% in. diameter, with a hole 


Jump-Spark Coil 

through the winding 1% in. in diam¬ 
eter, as shown in Fig. 1. The second¬ 
ary will stand considerable handling 
without fear of injury, and need not be 
set into a case until the primary is com¬ 
pleted. The primary is made of fine 
annealed No. 24 iron wire cut 7 in. or 
8 in. in length, as the maker prefers, 
and bundled to a diameter of % in. 
The wires may be straightened by roll¬ 
ing two or three at a time between two 
pieces of hard wood. If the amateur 
has difficulty in procuring this wire, 
the entire core may be purchased 
ready-made. 

After the core wires are bundled, the 
core is wrapped with one or two layers 
of manila paper. The straighter the 
wire the more iron will enter into the 
construction of the core, which is de¬ 
sirable. Beginning half an inch from 
one end, No. 16 cotton-covered magnet 
wire is wound from one end to the 
other evenly and then returned, mak¬ 
ing two layers, and the terminals tied 
down to the core with twine. Core and 
primary are then immersed in boiling 








































. 114 


paraffine wax to which a small quan¬ 
tity of resin and beeswax has been 
added. This same wax may be used 
later in sealing the completed coil into 
a box. Over this primary is now 
wrapped one layer of okonite tape, or 
same thickness of heavily shellacked 
muslin. This completed primary will 
now allow of slipping into the hole in 
the secondary. 

Should the secondary have been pur¬ 
chased without a case, a wooden box of 
mahogany or oak is made, large enough 
to contain the secondary and with an 
inch to spare all around, with room also 
for a small condenser; but if it is not 
convenient to do this work, a box like 
that shown in Fig. 2 may be purchased 
at a small cost. A %-in. hole is bored 
in the center of one end, through which 
the primary core projects % in. This 
core is to be used to attract magnetic¬ 
ally the iron head of a vibrating inter¬ 
rupter, which is an important factor of 
the coil. This interrupter is shaped as 
in Fig. 4, and is fastened to the box in 
such a way that the vibrator hammer 
plays in front of the core and also that 
soldered connections may be made in¬ 
side the box with the screws used in 
affixing the vibrator parts to the box. 
The condenser is made of four strips 
of thin paper, 2 yd. long and 5 in. 
wide, and a sufficient quantity of tin- 
foil. When cut and laid in one con¬ 
tinuous length, each piece of tin-foil 
must overlap the adjoining piece a half 
inch, so as to form a continuous elec¬ 
trical circuit. In shaping the con¬ 
denser, one piece of the paper is laid 
down, then the strip of tin-foil, then 
two strips of paper and another layer 
of foil, and finally the fourth strip of 
paper. This makes a condenser which 
may be folded, beginning at one end 
and bending about 6 in. at a time. 
The condenser is next wrapped se¬ 
curely with bands of paper or tape, and 
boiled in pure paraffine wax for one 
hour, after which it is pressed under 
considerable weight until firm and 
hard. One of the sheets of tin-foil is 
to form one pole of the condenser, and 
the other sheet, which is insulated from 


the first, forms the other pole or ter¬ 
minal. (This condenser material is 
purchasable in long strips, ready for 
assembling.) 

The wiring diagram, Fig. 3, shows 
how the connections are made. This 
method of connecting is suitable for 
all coils up to 1%-in. spark, but for 
larger coil better results will be ob¬ 
tained by using an independent type of 
interrupter, in which a separate magnet 
is used to interrupt the circuit. Besides 
the magnetic vibrators there are sev¬ 
eral other types, such as the mercury 
dash-pot and rotary-commutator types, 
but these will become better known to 
the amateur as he proceeds in his 
work and becomes more experienced 
in coil operation. 


Combined Door Bell and Electric 
Alarm 

This device consists of a battery and 
bell connection to an alarm clock which 
also acts as a door 
bell, the whole be¬ 
ing mounted on a 
board 18 in. long 
and 12 in. wide. 

Referring to the 
sketch accom¬ 
panying this arti¬ 
cle, the letters 
indicate as fol¬ 
lows: A, bell; B, 
battery; C, 
switch; D, V' 
shaped copper 
strip; E, coppei 
lever with 1-in. flange turned on one 
side, whole length, 4 in.; F, spring to 
throw lever E down in V-shaped piece 
to make connection; G, lever to hold 
out E when device is used as a door 
bell; lines H, go, one from bell, A, and 
one from battery, B, to the door; I, 
shelf for clock. 

See that the ring in the alarm key 
of the clock works easily, so that when 
it is square across the clock it will drop 
down. Fasten a piece of copper about 



















115 


1 in. long to key, then wind the alarm 
just enough so that the key stands 
straight up and down. Place the clock 
on the shelf and the key under the 
flange of lever E. Pull lever G down 
out of the way and close the lever on 
the switch. The alarm key will turn 
and drop down, letting lever E drop in¬ 
to the V-shaped piece D and make con¬ 
nection. 

For the door-bell connection close 
lever on switch C, and put G up so that 
D and E do not come in contact. If 
any one is ill and you do not want the 
bell to ring, open switch C. 

The wiring for this device may all be 
on the back of the board. The switch 
and levers are fastened with small 
screw bolts, which allows wiring at 
the back. Saw two spools in half and 
fasten the halves to the four corners of 
the board at the back, and the appara¬ 
tus may be put up where one likes. 

To Build a Small Brass Furnace 

Bend a piece of stout sheet iron 23 
in. by 12 in. round so that the inside 

u.-diameter is 7 in., and 

then rivet the seam. 
Fit in a round piece 
of sheet iron for the 
bottom. Make a 
hole about the size 
of a shilling in the 
side, 2 in. from the 
bottom. This is for 
blowing. 

Line the furnace, 
bottom and sides with fire-clay to a 
depth of % in. Use charcoal to burn 
and an ordinary bellows for blowing, 
says the Model Engineer, London. 
The best blast is obtained by holding 
the nozzle of the bellows about an inch 
from the hole, instead of close to it. 


GDon’t wrap paper around a lamp 
for a shade. You might go away and 
forget it and a fire might be started 
from the heat. Use a glass or metal 
shade. That is what they are for. 


Why Gravity Batteries Fail to Work 

Many amateur electricians and some 
professionals have had considerable 
trouble with gravity batteries. They 



follow directions carefully and then 
fail to get good results. The usual 
trouble is not with the battery itself, 
but with the circuit. A gravity battery 
is suitable only for a circuit which is 
normally closed. It is therefore un¬ 
desirable for electric bells, induction 
coils and all other open-circuit appara¬ 
tus. The circuit should also have a 
high resistance. This makes it im¬ 
practical for running fan motors, as the 
motor would have to be wound with 
fine wire and it would then require a 
large number of batteries to give a 
sufficiently high voltage. 

To set up a gravity battery: Use 
about 3% lb. of blue stone, or enough 
to cover the copper element 1 in. Pour 
in water sufficient to cover the zinc % 
in. Short-circuit for three hours, and 
the battery is ready for use. If desired 
for use immediately, do not short-cir¬ 
cuit, but add 5 or 6 oz. of zinc sulphate. 

Keep the dividing line between the 
blue and white liquids about % in. be¬ 
low the bottom of the zinc. If too low, 
siphon off some of the white liquid and 
add the same amount of water, but do 
not agitate or mix the two solutions. 
This type of battery will give about 0.9 
of a volt, and should be used on a cir¬ 
cuit of about 100 milli-amperes. 







































































116 


A Skidoo-Skidee Trick 


In a recent issue of Popular Me¬ 
chanics an article on “The Turning 
Card Puzzle” was described and illus¬ 
trated. Outside of the scientific side 
involved, herein I describe a much bet¬ 
ter trick. About the time when the 
expression “skidoo” first began to be 
used I invented the following trick and 



called it “Skidoo” and “Skidee,” which 
created much merriment. Unless the 
trick is thoroughly understood, for 
some it will turn one way, for others 
the opposite way, while for others it 
will not revolve at all. One person 
whom I now recall became red in the 
face by shouting skidoo and skidee at 
it, but the thing would not move at all, 
and he finally from vexation threw the 
trick into the fire and a new one had 
to he made. Very few can make it 
turn both ways at will, and therein is 
the trick. 

Take a piece of hardwood f in. 
square and about 9 in. long. On one 
of the edges cut a series of notches as 
indicated in Pig. 1. Then slightly 
taper the end marked B until it is 
nicely rounded as shown in Fig. 2. 
Next make an arm of a two-arm wind¬ 
mill such as boys make. Make a hole 
through the center of this one arm. 
Enlarge the hole slightly, enough to 
allow a common pin to hold the arm 
to the end B and not interfere with the 
revolving arm. Two or three of these 
arms may have to be made before one 
is secured that is of the exact propor¬ 
tions to catch the vibrations right. 

To operate the trick, grip the stick 
firmly in one hand, and with the for¬ 
ward and backward motion of the other 


allow the first finger to slide along the 
top edge, the second finger along the 
side, and the thumb nail will then vi¬ 
brate along the notches, thus making 
the arm revolve in one direction. To 
make the arm revolve in the opposite 
direction—keep the hand moving all 
the time, so the observer will not de¬ 
tect the change which the hand makes 
—allow the first finger to slide along 
the top, as in the other movement, the 
thumb and second finger changing 
places: e. g., in the first movement 
you scratch the notches with the thumb 
nail while the hand is going from the 
body, and in the second movement you 
scratch the notches with the nail of 
the second finger when the hand is 
coming toward the body, thus produc¬ 
ing two different vibrations. In order 
to make it work perfectly (?) 
you must of course say “skidoo” 
when you begin the first movement, 
and then, no matter how fast 
the little arm is revolving when 
changed to the second movement, you 
must say “skidee” and the arm will 
immediately stop and begin revolving 
in the opposite direction. By using 
the magic words the little arm will 
obey your commands instantly and 
your audience will be mystified. If 
any of your audience presume to dis¬ 
pute, or think they can do the same, 
let them try it. You will no doubt be 
accused of blowing or drawing in your 
breath, and many other things in order 
to make the arm operate. At least it 
is amusing. Try it and see.—Con¬ 
tributed by Charles Clement Bradley, 
Toledo, Ohio. 

-» - ♦ ♦- 

Radium acts upon the chemical con¬ 
stituents of glass, porcelain and paper, 
imparting to them a violet tinge; 
changes white phosphorus to yellow, 
oxygen to ozone, affects photograph 
plates and produces many other curious 
chemical changes. 


On its official trial trip the British 
torpedo boat destroyer “Mohawk” at¬ 
tained the record speed of a little over 
39 miles an hour. 













117 


How to Enlarge from Life in the Camera 


Usually the amateur photographer 
gets to a point in his work where the 
miscellaneous taking of everything in 
sight is somewhat unsatisfying. There 
are many special 
fields he may 
enter, and one of 
them is photo¬ 
micrography. It 
is usually under¬ 
stood that this 
branch of pho¬ 
tography means 
an expensive ap¬ 
paratus. If the 
worker is not 
after too high 
a magnification, 
however, there is 
a very simple and effective means of 
making photomicrographs which re¬ 
quires no additional apparatus that 
cannot be easily and quickly con¬ 
structed at home. 

Reproduced with this article is a 
photograph of dandelion seeds—a mag¬ 
nification of nine diameters or eighty- 
one times. The apparatus which pro¬ 
duced this photograph consisted of a 
camera of fairly long draw, a means 
for holding it vertical, a short-focus 
lens, and, if possible, but not essential, 
a means for focusing that lens in a 
minute manner. On top of the tripod 
is the folding arrangement, which is 
easily constructed at home with two 
hinged boards, an old tripod screw, an 
old bedplate from a camera for the 
screw to fit in, and two sliding brass 
pieces with setscrews that may be pur¬ 
chased from any hardware store under 
the name of desk sliding braces. To 
the front board is attached a box, car¬ 
rying the lens and the bed of the slid¬ 
ing object carrier, which can be moved 
forward and back by the rack and 
pinion, that also can be obtained from 
hardware stores. If the bed for the 
object carrier be attached to the bed 
of the camera instead of to the front 
board, the object carrier need have no 
independent movement of its own, 
focusing being done by the front and 


back focus of the camera; but this is 
less satisfactory, particularly when 
accurate dimensions are to be deter¬ 
mined, says the Photographic Times. 
This outfit need not be confined to 
seeds alone, but small flowers, earth, 
chemicals, insects, and the thousand 
and one little things of daily life—all 
make beautiful subjects for enlarged 
photographs. These cannot be made 
by taking an ordinary photograph and 
enlarging through a lantern. When a 
gelatine dry plate is magnified nine 
diameters, the grains of silver in the 
negative will be magnified also and 
produce a result that will not stand 



Magnified Nine Diameters 


close examination. Photographs made 
by photomicrography can be examined 
like any other photographs and show 
no more texture than will any print. 


Steel Pen Used in Draftsman’s Ink- 
Bottle Cork 

A steel pen makes an ideal substi¬ 
tute for a quill in the stopper of the 
draftsman’s ink bottle. The advantage 
of this substitute is that there is 
always one handy to replace a broken 
or lost pen, while it is not so with the 
quill.—Contributed by George C. Mad¬ 
ison, Boston, Mass. 

























118 


How to Make a Pilot Balloon 


By E. Goddard Jorgensen 

Unusual interest is being displayed in 
ballooning, and as it is fast becoming 
the favorite sport many persons would 
like to know how to construct a min¬ 
iature balloon for making experiments. 
The Allowing table will give the size, 
as well as the capacity and lifting power 
of pilot balloons: 


Diameter. 

Cap. in Cu. Ft. 

Lifting Power. 

5 ft. 

65 

4 lb. 

6 ft. 

113 

71b. 

7 ft. 

179 

11 lb. 

8 ft. 

268 

171b. 

9 ft. 

381 

24 lb. 

10 ft. 

523 

33 lb. 

11 ft. 

697 

44 lb. 

12 ft. 

905 

57 lb. 


The material must be cut in suitable 
shaped gores or segments. In this ar¬ 
ticle we shall confine ourselves to a 
10-ft. balloon. If the balloon is 10 ft. 
in diameter, then the circumference will 
be approximately 3 1/7 times the di¬ 
ameter, or 31 ft. 5 in. We now take 
one-half this length to make the length 
of the gore, which is 15 ft. 7J in. Get 
a piece of paper 15 ft. 7-J in. long and 
3 ft. wide from which to cut a pattern. 
Fig. 1. A line, AB, is drawn length¬ 
wise and exactly in the middle of the 
paper, and a line, CD, is drawn at right 
angles to AB and in the middle of the 
paper lengthways. The intersecting 
point of AB and CD is used for a cen¬ 
ter to ascribe a circle whose diameter is 
the same as the width of the paper, or 
3 ft. Divide one-quarter of the circle 


into 10 equal parts and also divide 
one-half of the line AB in 10 equal 
parts. Perpendicular lines are drawn 
parallel with the line CD intersecting 
the division points made on the one- 
half line AB. Horizontal and parallel 
lines with AB are drawn intersecting 
the division points made on the one- 
quarter circle and intersecting the per¬ 
pendicular line drawn parallel with CD. 
A line is now drawn from B to E and 
from E to F, and so on, until all the 
intersecting lines are touched and the 
point C is reached. This will form the 
proper curve to cut the pattern. The 
paper is now folded on the line AB and 
then on the line CD, keeping the 
marked part on the outside. The pat¬ 
tern is now cut, cutting all four quar¬ 
ters at the same time, on the curved 
line from B to C. When the paper is 
unfolded you will have a pattern as 
shown in Fig. 2. This pattern is used 
to mark the cloth, and after marked is 
cut the same shape and size. 

The cloth segments are sewed to¬ 
gether, using a fine needle and No. 70 
thread, making a double seam as shown 
in Fig. 3. When all seams are com¬ 
pleted you will have a bag the shape 
shown in Fig. 4. A small portion of 
one end or a seam must be left open 
for inflating. A small tube made from 
the cloth and sewed into one end will 
make a better place for inflating and 
to tie up tightly. 

It is now necessary to varnish the 
bag in order to make it retain the gas. 

























119 


Procure 1 gal. of the very best heavy 
body, boiled linseed oil and immerse 
the bag in it. The surplus oil is 
squeezed out by running the bag 
through an ordinary clothes wringer 
several times. The bag is now placed 
in the sun for a thorough drying. Put 
the remaining oil in a kettle with -J lb. 
of beeswax and boil well together. This 
solution is afterward diluted with tur¬ 
pentine so it will work well. When the 
bag is dry apply this mixture by rub¬ 
bing it on the bag with a piece of flan¬ 
nel. Eepeat this operation four times. 


Sewing Segments Together 

being sure of a thorough drying in the 
sun each time. For indoor coating and 
drying use a small amount of plumbic 
oxide. This will dry rapidly in the 
shade and will not make the oil hard. 

Fill the bag with air by using a pair 
of bellows and leave it over night. This 
test will show if the bag is airtight. 
If it is not tight then the bag needs 
another rubbing. The next operation 
is to fill the bag with gas. 

Hydrogen gas is made from iron and 
sulphuric acid. The amounts neces¬ 
sary for a 10-ft. balloon are 125 lb. of 
iron borings and 125 lb. of sulphuric 
acid. 1 lb. of iron, 1 lb. of sulphuric 
acid and 4 lb. of water will make 4 
cu. ft. of gas in one hour. Secure two 
empty barrels of about 52 gal. capacity 
and connect them, as shown in Fig. 5, 
with J-in. pipe. In the barrel, A, place 
the iron borings and fill one-half full 
of clear water. Fill the other barrel, 
B, with water 2 in. above the level of 
the water in barrel A. This is to give 
a water pressure head against foaming 
when the generator is in action. About 
15 lb. of lime should be well mixed 
with the water in the barrel B. All 



joints must be sealed with plaster of 
Paris. Pour in one-half of the acid 
into the barrel, A, with the iron 
borings. The barrels are kept tight 
while the generation is going on with 
the exception of the outlet, C, W the 
bag. When the action is stopped in 
the generator barrel, A, let the solution 
run out and fill again as before with 
water and acid on the iron borings. 
The outlet, C, should be always con¬ 
nected with the bag while the generator 
is in action. The f-in. pipe extending 
down into the cooling tank, B, should 
not enter into the water over 8 in. 
When filled with gas the balloon is 
ready for a flight at the will of the 
operator. 


How to Clean a Clock 


It is very simple to clean a clock, 
which may sound rather absurd. For 
an amateur it is not always necessary to 
take the clock to pieces. With a little 
care and patience and using some ben¬ 
zine, a clean white rag, a sable brush 
and some oil a clock can be cleaned and 
put into first-class running order. The 
benzine should be clean and free from 
oil. You can test benzine by putting a 
little on the back of the hand; if it is 
good it will dry off, leaving the hand 
quite clean, but if any grease remains 
on the hand, it is not fit to use. 

The oil should be of the very best 
that can be procured. Vegetable oils 
should never be used. Clock oil can be 
procured from your druggist or jeweler. 

All loose dirt should be removed 
from the works by blowing with bel¬ 
lows, or a fan, or dusting with a dry 




































brush; in the latter case great care 
should be exercised not to injure any 
of the parts. Dip the brush in the 
benzine and clean the spindles and 
spindle holes, and the teeth of the es¬ 
capement wheel. After washing a part, 
wipe the brush on the rag and rinse in 
the benzine; this should be repeated 
frequently, until no more dirt is seen. 

When the clock has dried, oil the 
spindle holes carefully; this may be 
done with a toothpick or a sliver of 
wood cut to a fine point. Oil the tooth 
of the escapement wheel slightly, using 
a fine brush. 


How to Make Blueprint Lantern 
Slides 


Lantern slides of a blue tone that is 
a. pleasing variety from the usual black 
may be made from spoiled or old plates 
which have not been developed, by fix¬ 
ing, washing well and then dipping five 
minutes in the following solution: 

A. Green iron ammonium citrate. .150 gr. 


Water . 1 oz. 

B. Potassium ferrocyanide . 50 gr. 

Water . 1 oz. 


Prepare the solutions separately and 
mix equal parts for use, at the time of 
employment. Dry the plates in the 
dark, and keep in the dark until used. 
Printing is done in the sun, and a vig¬ 
orous negative must be used, says the 
Moving Picture World. Exposure, 20 
to 30 minutes. Wash 10 minutes in 
running water and dry. Brown or pur¬ 
ple tones may be had by sensitizing with 


the following solution instead of the 
above: 


Distilled water . 1 oz. 

Silver nitrate . 50 gr. 

Tartaric or citric acid. Vz oz. 


Bathe the plates 5 minutes, keeping 
the fingers out of the solution, to avoid 
blackened skin. Dry in the dark. Print 
to bronzing under a strong negative; 
fix in hypo, toning first if desired. 


A Substitute lor a Ray Filter 


Not many amateur photographers 
possess a ray filter. A good substitute 
is to use the orange glass from the ruby 
lamp. This can be held in position in 
front of the lens with a rubber band. 
A longer exposure will be necessary, 
but good cloud effects can be procured 
in this manner. 

-»- ♦- ♦- 

Electric Lamp Experiments 


Incandescent electric lamps can be 
made to glow so that they may be seen 
in a dark room by rubbing the globe 
on clothing or with a paper, leather or 
tinfoil and immediately holding near a 
-J-in. Ruhmkorff coil which is in action 
but not sparking. The miniature 16- 
cp., 20 and 22-volt lamps will show 
quite brilliantly, but the 110-volt 
globes will not glow. When experi¬ 
menting with these globes everything 
should be dry. A cold, dry atmosphere 
will give best results. 



Annual Regatta, Port Melbourne, Australia 



















121 


How to Make a Simple Wireless 
Telegraph 

By ARTHUR E. JOERIN 

An efficient wireless-telegraph receiv¬ 
ing apparatus for distances up to 1,000 
ft. may be constructed in the following 
manner: Attach a watchcase telephone 
receiver to a dry cell, or battery, of any 
make. The negative pole, or zinc, of 
the cell is connected to a ground wire. 
This is done by attaching to a gas 
or water pipe. The positive pole, or 
carbon, of the cell is connected to the 
aerial line. This aerial collector can 
be made in various ways, either by 
using a screen wire or numerous wires 



made in an open coil and hung in the 
air. File a V-shaped groove in the 
upper end of the carbon of the cell. 
Attach a small bent copper wire in the 
binding post that is attached to the 
zinc of the cell. In the bend of this 
wire and the V-shaped groove filed 
into the carbon, lay a needle. This 
will complete the receiving station. 
Use a spark coil in connection with a 
telegraph key for the sending station, 
making a ground with one wire, and 
have the other connected with another 
aerial line. 

By connecting the telephone re¬ 
ceiver to the cell and at the same time 
having a short circuit a receiving sta¬ 
tion is made. As the telephone offers 
a high resistance, part of the current 
will try to take the shorter high resist¬ 
ance through the needle. If the.waves 
strike across the needle, the resistance 
is less, and thus less current travels 


through the telephone receiver. If the 
wave ceases, the resistance between 
the needle and the carbon is increased, 
and as less current will flow the short 
way, it is compelled to take the longer 
metallic way through the windings of 
the receiver, which will cause the click¬ 
ings that can be heard. 


To Preserve Putty 

Putty, when left exposed to the air, 
will soon become dry and useless. I 
have kept putty in good condition for 
more than a year by placing it in a 
glass jar and keeping it entirely cov¬ 
ered with water. 


How to Make a Small Storage 
Battery 

The cell of a storage battery con¬ 
sists of two plates, a positive and a 
negative, made of lead and placed in 
a dilute solution of sulphuric acid. 
Large batteries made of large cells 
have a great number of plates, both 
positive and negative, of which all pos¬ 
itive plates are connected to one ter¬ 
minal and the negative plates to the 
other terminal. The storage cell, as 
described below, 
is the right size 
to be charged by 
a few gravity 
cells and is easily 
made. 

Secure a piece 
of 1%-in. lead 
pipe, 5 in. long, 
and cut both 
ends smooth and 
square with the 
pipe. Solder a 
circular disk of 
lead to one end, 
forming a cup of 
the pipe. As this 
cup must hold 
the sulphuric acid it must be perfectly 
liquid-tight. 

It is also necessary to get an¬ 
other lead pipe of the same length but 
only % in. in diameter. In this pipe 
should be bored as many holes 






























122 


as possible, except for about 1 in. on 
each end. One end of this tube is ham¬ 
mered together as shown at A in the 
sketch to make a pocket to hold the 
paste. This, of course, does not need 
to be watertight. 

A box of wood is made to hold the 
larger tube or cup. This box can be 
square, and the corners left open around 
the cup can be tilled with sawdust. A 
support is now made from a block of 
wood to hold the tube, B, in place and 
to keep it from touching the cup C. 
This support or block, D, is cut cir¬ 
cular with the same diameter as the 
lead cup C. The lower portion of the 
block is cut away so it will just tit in¬ 
side of the cup to form a stopper. The 
center of this block is now bored to 
make a hole the same size as the smaller 
lead pipe. Place the lead pipe in the 
hole and immerse it in smoking hot 
paraffine wax, and leave it until the 
wood has become thoroughly saturated 
with the hot wax. Use care to keep 
the wax from running on the lead at 
any place other than the end within 
the wood block. Two binding-posts 
should be attached, one to the positive, 
or tube B, and the other to the nega¬ 
tive, or tube C, by soldering the joint. 

A paste for the positive plate is made 
from 1 part sulphuric acid and 1 part 
water with a sufficient amount of red 
lead added to make of thick dry con¬ 
sistency. When mixing the acid and 
water, be sure to add the acid to the 
water and not the water to the acid. 
Also remember that sulphuric acid will 
destroy anything that it comes in con¬ 
tact with and will make a painful burn 
if it touches the hands. Stir the mix¬ 
ture with a stick and when a good dry 
paste is formed, put it into the smaller 
tube and ram it down until the tube is 
almost filled. The paste that may have 
come through the holes is scraped off 
and the tube set aside to dry. The 
large tube or cup is filled with a diluted 
solution of sulphuric acid. This solu¬ 
tion should be about one-twelfth acid. 
The cell is now complete and ready for 
storing the current. 

The cell may be charged with three 


gravity cells. These are connected in 
series and the positive terminal bind¬ 
ing-post on the storage cell is connected 
to the wire leading from the copper 
plate in the gravity cell. The other 
plate is connected to the zinc. The 
first charge should be run into the cell 
for about one week and all subsequent 
charges should only take from 10 to 12 
hours. 


Fitting a Plug in Different Shaped 
Holes 


A certain king offered to give the 
prince his liberty if he could whittle 
a plug that would fit four different¬ 
shaped holes, namely: a square hole, a 
round one, an oblong one and a trian¬ 
gular one, says the Pathfinder. A 
broomstick was used to make the plug 
and it was whittled in the shape shown 



in Fig. 1. The holes in the different 
places as shown in Fig. 2, were fitted 
by this one plug. 


How to Make a Lightning Arrester 


Secure a piece of wood about 3J in. 
square that will furnish a nice finish 
and round the corners and make a small 
rounding edge as shown in the sketch. 

From a piece of 
brass ^ in. 
thick cut two 
pieces alike, A 
and B, and 
match them to¬ 
gether, leaving 
about bn. be¬ 
tween their upper edges and fasten 
them to the wood with binding-posts. 
The third piece of brass, C, is fitted 












123 


between the pieces A and B allowing a 
space of le-in. all around the edge. 
One binding-post and a small screw will 
hold the piece of brass, C, in place on 
the wood. The connections are made 
from the line wires to the two upper 
binding-posts and parallel from the 
lower binding-posts to the instrument. 
The third binding-post on C is connect¬ 
ed to the ground wire. Any heavy charge 
from lightning will jump the saw 
teeth part of the brass and is grounded 
without doing harm to the instruments 
used.—Contributed by Edwin Walker, 
Chicago, Ill. 


A Home-Made Punt 


A flat bottom boat is easy to make 
and is one of the safest boats, as it 
is not readily overturned. It has the 
advantage of being rowed from either 
end, and has plenty of good seating 
capacity. 

This punt, as shown in Fig. 1, is 
built 15 ft. long, about 20 
in. deep and 4 ft. wide. 

The ends are cut sloping 
for about 20 in. back and 
under. The sides are 
each made up from 
boards held together with 
battens on the inside of 
the boat near the ends 
and in the middle. One 
wide board should be 
used for the bottom piece. 

Two pins are driven in 
the top board of each 
side to serve as oarlocks. 

The bottom is covered 
with matched boards not 
over 5 in. wide. These pieces are 
placed together as closely as possible, 
using white lead between the joints 
and nailing them to the edges of the 
side boards and to a keel strip that 
runs the length of the punt, as shown 
in Fig. 2. Before nailing the boards 
place lamp wicking between them and 
the edges of the side boards. Only 
galvanized nails should be used. In 
order to make the punt perfectly water¬ 
tight it is best to use the dryest lum¬ 


ber obtainable. At one end of the punt 
a skag and a rudder can be attached as 
shown in Fig. 3. 


Photographers’ Printing Frame 
Stand 


When using developing papers it is 
always bothersome to build up books or 



small boxes to make a place to set the 
printing frame in front of the light. 
Details for making a small stand that 


Easy to Build and Safe to Use 

is adjustable to any desired height are 
shown in the sketch. In Fig. 1 is 
shown the construction of the sliding 
holder. A piece of ^-in. gas pipe, A, 
is cut 1 in. long and fitted with a 
thumbscrew, B. The piece of pipe is 
soldered to the middle on the back side 
of a piece of metal that is about 4 by 4£ 
in. with its lower edge turned up to 
form a small shelf as shown at C. The 
main part of the stand is made by in¬ 
serting a iVin. rod tightly into a block 




























124 


of hard maple wood that is 1 in. thick 
and 3J-in. square (Fig 2 ). The pipe 
that is soldered to the metal support 
will slide up and down the rod and the 
thumbscrew can be set to hold it at 
the desired point. 

-»-♦ ■■■♦- 

Heat and Expansion 


Take an electric light bulb from 
which the air has not been exhausted 
and immerse it in water and then 
break off the point. As there is a vacu¬ 
um in the bulb it will quickly fill with 
water. Shake the bulb gently until a 
part of the water is out and then screw 
the bulb into a socket with the point 
always downward. Apply the current 
and the heated air inside will soon ex¬ 
pand and force the water out with great 
rapidity. Sometimes this experiment 
can be done several times by using the 
same bulb.—Contributed by Curtiss 
Hill, Tacoma, Wash. 


Photographing a Streak of Lightning 


The accompanying il¬ 
lustration is a remark¬ 
able photograph of a 
streak of lightning. 

Many interesting pic¬ 
tures of this kind can 
be made during a storm 
at night. The camera 
is set in a place where 
it will not get wet and 
left standing with the 
shutter open and the 
plate ready for the ex¬ 
posure. Should a light¬ 
ning streak appear within the range of 
the lens it will be made on the plate, 
which can be developed in the usual 
manner. It will require some atten¬ 
tion to that part of the sky within the 
range of the lens so as to not make a 
double exposure by letting a second 
flash enter the open lens.—Contributed 
by Charles H. Wagner. 


Borax may be used as a solvent for 
shellac gum. 


How to Make a Small Single-Phase 
Induction Motor 


By C. H. Bell 

The following notes on a small sin¬ 
gle-phase induction motor, without aux¬ 
iliary phase, which the writer has made, 
may be of interest to some of our read¬ 
ers, says the Model Engineer. The 
problem to be solved was the construc¬ 
tion of a motor large enough to drive 
a sewing machine or very light lathe, 
to be supplied with 110-volt alternating 
current from a lighting circuit, and to 
consume, if possible, no more current 
than a 16-cp. lamp. In designing, it 
had to be borne in mind that, with the 
exception of insulated wire, no special 
materials could be obtained. 

The principle of an induction motor 
is quite different from that of the com¬ 
mutator motor. The winding of the 
armature, or "rotor,” has no connection 
with the outside circuit, but the cur¬ 
rent is induced in it by the action of 
the alternating current supplied to the 
winding of the field-magnet, or "sta¬ 
tor.” Neither commutator nor slip 


rings are required, and all sparking is 
avoided. Unfortunately, this little ma¬ 
chine is not self-starting, but a slight 
pull on the belt just as the current is 
turned on is all that is needed, and 
the motor rapidly gathers speed pro¬ 
vided no load is put on until it is in 
step with the alternations of the sup¬ 
ply. It then runs at constant speed 
whether given much or little current, 
but stops if overloaded for more than a 
few seconds. 
















125 



shown in Fig. 1, with the dotted line, 
C, to be filed out after they are placed 
together. Each layer of four is placed 
with the pointed ends of the pieces al¬ 
ternately to the right and left so as to 
break joints as shown in Fig. 2. The 
laminations were carefully built up on 
a board into which heavy wires had 
been driven to keep them in place until 
all were in position and the whole could 
be clamped down. In the middle of 
the pieces J-in. holes, B, were then 
drilled and J-in. bolts put in and tight¬ 
ened up, large holes being cut through 
the wood to enable this to be done. The 
armature tunnel was then carefully 
filed out and all taken apart again so 
that the rough edges could be scraped 
off and the laminations given a thin 
coat of shellac varnish on one side. Af¬ 
ter assembling a second time, the holts 
were coated with shellac and put into 
place for good. Holes 5-32 in. in di¬ 
ameter were drilled in the corners, A, 
and filled with rivets, also varnished 
before they were put in. When put to¬ 
gether they should make a piece 2 in. 
thick. 

This peculiar construction was 
adopted because proper stampings were 
not available, and as every bit of sheet 
iron had to be cut with a small pair of 
tinners 5 snips, it was important to have a 


very simple outline for the pieces. They 
are not particularly accurate as it is, and 
when some of them got out of their 
proper order while being varnished, an 
awkward job occurred in the magnet 
which was never entirely corrected. Ho 
doubt some energy is lost through the 
large number of joints, all representing 
breaks in the magnetic circuit, but as 
the laminations are tightly held to¬ 
gether and the circuit is about as com¬ 
pact as it could possibly be, probably 
the loss is not as great as it would ap¬ 
pear at first sight. 

The rotor is made of laminations cut 
from sheet iron, as shown in Fig. 3, 
which were varnished lightly on one side 
and clamped on the shaft between two 
nuts in the usual way. A very slight 
cut was taken in the lathe afterwards 
to true the circumference. The shaft 
was turned from J-in. wrought iron, no 
. steel being obtainable, and is shown 
with dimensions in Fig. 4. The bear¬ 
ings were cast of babbitt metal, as 
shown in Fig. 5, in a wooden mold and 
bored to size with a twist drill in the 
lathe. They are fitted with ordinary 
wick lubricators. Figures 6 and 7 are 
sections showing the general arrange¬ 
ment of the machine. 

The stator is wound full with Ho. 22 
double cotton-covered copper wire, 


































120 



about 2 i lb. being used, and the connec¬ 
tions are such as to produce alternate 
poles—that is, the end of the first coil 
is joined to the end of the second, the 
beginning of the second to the begin¬ 
ning of the third, and the end of the 
third to the end of the fourth, while the 
beginnings of the first and fourth coils 
connect to the supply. 

The rotor is wound with No. ■ 24 
double cotton-covered copper wire, each 
limb being filled with about 200 turns, 
and all wound in the same direction. 
The four commencing ends are con¬ 
nected together on one side of the rotor, 
and the four finishing ends are soldered 
together on the other. All winding 
spaces are carefully covered with two 
layers of cambric soaked in shellac, and 
as each layer of wire was wound, it was 
well saturated with varnish before the 
next was put on. 

This type of motor has drawbacks, as 
before stated, but if regular stampings 
are used for the laminations, it would 
be very simple to build, having no com¬ 
mutator or brushes, and would not eas¬ 
ily get out of order. No starting resist¬ 
ance is needed, and as the motor runs 
at constant speed, depending upon the 
number of alterations of the supply, a 
regulating resistance is not needed. 
-♦ • ♦- 

The pain of carbolic acid burns can 
be relieved promptly by washing with 
alcohol, if applied immediately. If too 
late for alcohol to be of use, brush with 


water containing saturated solution of 
picric acid. 

-»■■■♦ ♦- 

How to Make a Paper Book Cover 

Book covers become soiled in han¬ 
dling and especially school books. Vari¬ 
ous methods are applied for making a 
temporary cover that will protect the 
book cover. A paper cover can be 
quickly made by using a piece of paper 
larger than both covers on the book 
when they are open. Fold the paper on 
the long dotted line, as shown in Fig. 1. 
When the folds are made the paper 
should then be just as wide as the book 
cover is high. The ends are then folded 
on the short dotted lines, which will 
make it appear as shown in Fig. 2. The 
paper thus folded is placed on the book 
cover as shown in Fig. 3—Contributed 
by C. E. McKinney, Jr., Newark, N. J. 


T- - - * - k - T 

I ! 



To Protect Book Covers 


/ 




































































127 


How to Make Lantern Slides) 


The popularity of lantern slides, and 
especially of colored ones, as a means of 
illustrating songs, has caused so large 
a demand for this class of work that 
almost any amateur may take up slide 
making at a good profit. The lantern 
slide is a glass plate, coated with slow 
and extremely fine-grained emulsion. 
The size is 3*4 by 4 in. A lantern slide 
is merely a print on a glass plate in¬ 
stead of on paper. Lantern slides can 
be made in two different ways. One 
is by contact, exactly the same as a 
print is made on paper, and the other 
by reduction in the camera. In mak¬ 
ing slides by contact, select the neg¬ 
ative and place it in the printing frame 


development and will come out as 
clear glass after fixing. It is best to 
use the developers recommended by 
the manufacturer of the plates used, 
the formulas being found in each 
package of plates. It is best, also, to 
use a plain fixing bath, which must be 
fresh and kept as cool as possible in 
hot weather. 

The lantern-slide film that is new on 
the market can be handled in the same 
manner as the glass-plate slide, except 
that the binding is different. The re¬ 
sults are the same and the slides are 
not so bulky to handle. Being un¬ 
breakable, they are much used by 
travelers. The manner of binding 



The Camera as It is Arranged in Front of the Window for Reducing the Size of a Picture, 
and the Method of Binding the Slides 


and put the lantern plate upon it, film 
to film. Clamp down the back and 
expose just as in making a print. A 
good method of exposing is to hold a 
lighted match about 3 in. from the 
frame for three or more seconds accord¬ 
ing to the density. 

Development is carried on in the 
same manner as with a negative. The 
image should appear in about a 
minute, and development should be 
over in three or four minutes. If the 
exposure has been correct, the high 
lights will stay white throughout the 


them for use in a lantern is described 
on the circular inclosed with the film. 

When the negative is larger than 
the lantern-slide plate, and it is desir¬ 
able to reduce the entire view upon 
the slide, a little extra work will be 
necessary. Select a room with one 
window, if possible, and fit a light¬ 
proof frame into it to keep out all 
light with the exception of a hole in 
which to place the negative, as shown 
in Fig. 1. Unless this hole is on a line 
with the sky it will be necessary to 
place a sheet of white cardboard at an 














































128 


angle of 45 deg. on the outside of the 
frame to reflect the light through the 
negative as shown in Fig. 2. Make 
or secure an inside kit to place in the 
plate holder of your camera to hold 
the lantern slide plate as shown in 
Fig. 3. Draw lines with a pencil, out¬ 
lining on the ground glass of the 
camera the size of the lantern slide 
plate, and in the place where the plate 
will be in the plate holder when placed 
in position in the camera. This will 
enable you to focus to the proper size. 
Place the camera in front of the hole 
in the frame, place the negative in the 
hole and focus the camera for the lan¬ 
tern slide size. Expose with a medium 
stop for about 20 seconds and treat 
the plate the same as with the contact 
exposure. 


When dry the lantern slide plate may 
be tinted any color by means of liquid 
colors. These can be purchased from 
any photo material store. In coloring 
the slide plate it is only necessary to 
moisten the gelatine film from time to 
time with a piece of cloth dampened in 
water. The colors may then be spread 
evenly with a soft brush, which should 
be kept in motion to prevent spots. 

The slide is put together by placing 
a mat made of black paper, as shown 
in Fig. 4, on the gelatine side of the 
lantern slide, A, Fig. 5, and then a 
plain glass, B, over the mat, C, and 
the three bound together with passe¬ 
partout tape, D. Contrasty negatives 
make the best slides, but the lantern 
slide plate should be made without 
any attempt to gain density. 

—♦- 


HOW TO MAKE A PORCH SWING CHAIR 


The material needed for making this 
porch swing chair are two pieces of 
round wood 2J in. in diameter and 20 
in. long, and two pieces 1J in. in diam¬ 
eter and 40 in. long. These longer 
pieces can be made square, but for ap¬ 
pearance it is best to have them round 
or square with the corners rounded. A 
piece of canvas, or other stout cloth, 16 
in. wide and 50 in. long, is to be used 
for the seat. The two 
short pieces of wood are 
used for the ends of the 
chair and two 1-in. holes 
are bored in each end of 
them 1J in. from the 
ends, and between the 
holes and the ends 
grooves are cut around 
them to make a place to 
fasten ropes, as shown at 
B, Fig. 1. The two 
longer pieces are used for 
the sides and a tenon is 
cut on each end of them 
to fit in the 1-in. holes bored in the 
end pieces, as shown at A, Fig. 1. The 
canvas is now tacked on the end pieces 
and the pieces given one turn before 
placing the mortising together. 


The chair is now hung up to the 
porch ceiling with ropes attached to a 
large screw eye or hook. The end of 
the chair to be used for the lower part 
is held about 16 in. from the floor with 
ropes direct from the grooves in the 
end pieces to the hook. The upper 
end is supported by using a rope in the 
form of a loop or bail, as shown in 
Fig. 2. The middle of the loop or bail 


should be about 15 in. from the end 
piece of the chair. Another rope is 
attached to the loop and through the 
hook and to a slide as shown. This 
will allow for adjustment to make the 





















129 


device into a chair or a hammock.— 
Contributed by Earl R. Hastings, 
Corinth, Vt. 


Home-Made Water Wheel Does 
Family Washing 


How to Find the Blind Spot in the 
Eye 


Make a small black circular dot ^ 
in. in diameter on a piece of cardboard 
and about 3 in. from the center of 
this dot draw a star. Hold the card¬ 
board so that the star will be directly 
in front of one eye, while the dot will 



be in front of the other. If the star 
is in front of the left eye, close the 
right eye and look steadily at the star 
while you move the cardboard until the 
point is reached where the dot disap¬ 
pears. This will prove the presence 
of a blind spot in a person’s eye. The 
other eye can be given the same ex¬ 
periment by turning the cardboard end 
for end. The blind spot does not indi¬ 
cate diseased eyes, but it simply marks 
the point where the optic nerve enters 
the eyeball, which point is not pro¬ 
vided with the necessary visual end or¬ 
gans of the sight, known as rods and 
cones. 

-» »- ♦- 

A wax from the rafie palm of Mada¬ 
gascar is being used as a substitute for 
beeswax. 


The accompanying sketch illustrates 
a very ingenious device which does the 
family washing, as well as to operate 
other household machines. A disk 1 in. 
in thickness and 10 in. in diameter was 
cut from a piece of rough board, and 
on its circumference were nailed a 
number of cup-shaped pieces cut from 
old tin cans. A hole was then bored 
through the center of the disk and an 
old piece of iron 
rod was driven 
through to form a 
shaft. Two holes 
were then bored 
opposite each 
other through the 
sides of a wooden 
box in which the 
disk was placed, 
allowing the shaft 
to project through 
the holes. A small 
grooved wooden 
pulley was driven 
tightly on one of the projecting ends 
of the shaft. The top of the box was 
then tightly closed and a hole, large 
enough to admit the nozzle of a gar¬ 
den hose, was bored so that the jet of 
water would flow upon the tin buckets 
that were nailed to the circumference 
of the wheel or disk. Another hole was 
bored in the bottom of the box large 
enough to allow the waste water to 
run away freely. A belt, made from 
an ordinary sash cord, was run from 
the small pulley on the waterwheel to 
a large pulley, as shown in Fig. 1. A 
pitman was attached to the large pul¬ 
ley, which operates the washing ma¬ 
chine by its reciprocating motion, and 
the length of the stroke is adjusted by 
moving the position of the hinge joint 
on the arm of the washing machine, as 
shown in Fig. 2. The pressure at the 
nozzle is about 20 lb. per square inch, 
and is sufficient to drive the water¬ 
wheel under all ordinary circum¬ 
stances.—Contributed by P. J. O’Gara, 
Auburn, Cal. 

























































130 


I 


An Optical Illusion 


When looking at the accompanying 
sketch you will say that the letters are 
alternately inclined to the right and 
left. They are not so 
and can be proved by 
measuring the distance 
of the top and bottom of 
any vertical strokes from 
the edge of the entire 
block. They will be 
found to be exactly the 
same distance. Or take 
any of the horizontal 
strokes of the four let¬ 
ters and see how far their 
extremities are from the 
top and bottom of the entire block. It 
will be found that a line joining the 
extremities of the strokes are strictly 
parallel to the top or bottom and that 
they are not on a slant at all. It is the 
slant of the numerous short lines that 
go to make up the letter as a whole 
that deceives the eye. 

-♦- 

Home=Made Micrometer 


It often becomes necessary to find the 
thickness of material so thin, or incon¬ 
venient to measure, that a rule or other 
measuring device will not serve the pur¬ 
pose. A simple, fairly accurate, and 
easily made apparatus of the microme¬ 
ter form may be constructed as shown 
by the accompanying sketch. Secure a 
common iron or brass bolt about J-in. 
in diameter and about 2\ in. long, with 
as fine a thread as possible, and the 
thread cut to within a short distance of 
the head of the bolt. The head of the 
bolts should have a slot cut for the use 
of a screwdriver. Clamp together two 
blocks of wood with square corners 
which are about 1 in. wide, J in. thick 
and 2£ in. long and fasten them to¬ 
gether with small pieces nailed across 
the ends. The width of the blocks will 
then be about 2 in. Bore a J-in. hole 
through the center of the blocks in the 
2 in. direction. Remove the clamp and 
set the nut into one of the blocks, so 
that the hole will be continuous with 


the hole in the wood. Cut out a piece 
from the block combination, leaving it 
shaped like a bench, and glue the bot¬ 
toms of the legs to a piece of thin board 
about 2\ in. square for a support. 


Solder one end of a stiff wire that 
is about 2 in. long to the head of the 
bolt at right angles to the shaft, and 
fix a disc of heavy pasteboard with a 
radius equal to the length of the wire, 
and with its circumference graduated 
into equal spaces, to serve in measuring 
revolutions of the end of the wire, to 
the top of the bench. Put the bolt in 
the hole, screwing it through the nut, 



and the construction is complete. The 
base is improved for the measuring 
work by fastening a small piece of wood 
on the board between the legs of the 
bench. A small piece of metal is glued 
on this piece of wood at the point where 
the bolt meets it. 

Find the number of threads of the 
screw to the inch by placing the bolt on 
a measuring rule, and counting the 
threads in an inch of its length. The 
bolt in making one revolution will de¬ 
scend a distance equal to the distance 
between the threads. 














131 


The device is used by placing the ob¬ 
ject whose thickness is to be measured 
on the base under the bolt, and screw¬ 
ing the bolt down until its end just 
touches the object, then removing the 
object, and screwing the bolt down until 
its end just touches the base, carefully 
noting while doing so the distance that 
the end of the wire moves over the scale. 
The part of a rotation of the bolt, or the 
number of rotations with any additional 
parts of a rotation added, divided by 
the number of threads, to the inch, will 
be the thickness of the object. Quite 
accurate measurements may be made 
with this instrument, says the Scientific 
American, and in the absence of the ex¬ 
pensive micrometer, it serves a very use¬ 
ful purpose. 


Another Electric Lamp Experiment 


Break a portion of the end off from 
a 16-cp. globe that has been thrown 
away as useless. Shake the globe until 
all the filament is broken away, leav¬ 
ing only the ends of the platinum wire 
exposed. Screw the globe into a socket 
that sets upright and fill it with salt 
water. Make one connection to the 
socket from the positive wire of a 110- 
volt circuit and the other to a ground. 
When the current is turned on small 
stars will be seen in the globe, which 
show up fine at night.—Contributed by 
Lindsay McMillan, Santa Maria, Cal. 


Two or three applications of milk 
which are wiped up with a dry cloth 
will remove india ink spots on carpets. 



Feat of Balancing on Chairs 


Among the numerous physical exer¬ 
cises is the feat of balancing on the two 
rear legs of a chair while one foot rests 
on the front part of the seat and the 
other on the back of the chair. This 
may appear to be a hard thing to do, 
yet with a little practice it may be ac¬ 
complished. This exercise is one of 
many practiced by the boys of a boys’ 
home for an annual display given by 
them. A dozen of the boys will mount 
chairs at the same time and keep them 
in balance at the word of a command¬ 
ing officer. 

-» ♦ ♦-- 

How to Make a Merry=Go=Round 
Swing 


A 6 by 6-in. piece of wood 12 ft. long 
is used for the center pole. Bore a j- 
in. hole in each end to a depth of 6 in. 
Place a f-in. bolt in each hole, the bolt 
being long enough to protrude 2 in. 
beyond the end of the wood. Short 
pieces of wood are nailed on the center 
pole about 2 ft. from the end that is 
to be used for the bottom. This should 
form a hub on which to place the inner 
ends of the extending spokes that hold 
the platform. The spokes 
are made from twelve 
pieces of 2 by 4-in. mate¬ 
rial 12 ft. long. 

Usually a wheel can be 
found in a scrap pile 
suitable to place on the 
pin that is in the top 
end of the center pole. 
The wheel should be open 



Side and Top View 























132 


or have spokes. This wheel is used to at¬ 
tach wires for guying. The bottom pin 
in the center pole is placed in a hole 
that is bored into a block of wood 
about 12 in. square and 3 or 4 in. 
thick. A piece of sheet metal should 
be drilled and placed on the pin be¬ 
tween the block and end of the pole 
to make a smooth bearing. The center 
pole is now placed in position and 
guyed with six wires that are about 
35 ft. long. Stakes are driven into the 
ground and the wires fastened to them 
and to the wheel at the top end of the 
pole. Care should be taken when at¬ 
taching the wires to get the center 
pole to stand perpendicular. Twelve 
hooks should be placed at equal dis¬ 
tances around the center pole about 1 
ft. from the top end. Wires are fast¬ 
ened to these hooks and to the twelve 
2 by 4-in. pieces used for the spokes. 
The wires should be tied around each 
spoke about 2 ft. from the ends. Space 
the spokes with equal divisions and 
cover the outer 2 ft. of the ends with 
boards, as shown in the plan sketch on 
the right hand end of the drawing. 
The boards may be nailed or bolted. 
If bolted and the wires made in a 
loop at the hooks, the swing can easily 
be taken apart and changed from one 
place to another.—Contributed by A. 
0. Graham, Fort Worth, Tex. 


Home=Made Arc Lamp 


The frame of the lamp is made from 
bar metal J in. wide and -J in. thick, 
bent and welded 
to make a con¬ 
tinuous loop in 
the shape as 
shown at G in 
the sketch. This 
frame should be 
about 10J in. 
long with the up¬ 
per or wider part 
4 in. long, and 
the lower part 6J 
in. long. The 
width should be 
about 5J in. at 


the top and 4 in. at the bottom. A 
cross bar, L, made of the same mate¬ 
rial, is fitted into the off-set in the 
frame and riveted. Holes are drilled 
through the frame and brass bushings, 
H and J, are fitted for bearings to re¬ 
ceive the adjusting brass rod, B, which 
should be J in. in diameter. A brass 
curtain rod can be used for the rod B, 
and on its lower end a socket, P, is 
soldered. 

A piece of brass 2 in. long, \ in. wide 
and -J in. thick is used for the arma¬ 
ture, A, to be operated by the magnet 
coil, C. The coil, C, is made in the 
usual manner by wrapping-No. 14 cot¬ 
ton-covered magnet wire on a wooden 
spool that has a soft iron core. The 
spool is about 2-J in. long. The arma¬ 
ture, A, is drilled, making a hole just a 
little larger than the rod, B, and is ad¬ 
justed in place by two set screws, D 
and E. A soft piece of iron, F, is fast¬ 
ened to the opposite end of the arma¬ 
ture with a screw, which should be 
placed directly under the end of the 
coil’s core. This end of the armature 
may be kept from swinging around by 
placing it between a IJ-shaped piece of 
brass fastened to the cross piece L. At 
the bottom end of the frame, and di¬ 
rectly centering the holes H and J, a 
hole is drilled to receive a hard rubber 
bushing, E, for insulating the brass fer¬ 
rule, S, that holds the lower carbon. 

One connection is made from the 
main to the upper binding-post, which 
is in turn connected to one terminal 
of the coil, C, the other coil terminal 
being attached to the frame. The other 
main connection is made to the lower 
binding-post, which is also connected 
to the brass ferrule, S, by soldering. 
The two binding-posts are insulated 
from the frame the same as the ferrule 
S. When using on a 110-volt circuit 
there must be some resistance in con¬ 
nection, which may be had by using 
german silver wire, or a water rheostat 
heretofore described.—Contributed by 
Arthur D. Bradley, Randolph, Mass. 

The Mexican government has appro¬ 
priated $25,000,000 for irrigation 
work. 
































133 


How to Hang Your Hat on a 
Lead Pencil 

Take a smooth hexagon lead pencil, 
one without either rubber or metal 
end, and place it against a door or 
window casing; then with a firm, 
heavy pressure 
slide the pencil 
some 3 or 4 in. 
and it will stay as 
if glued to the 
casing. You may 
now hang your 
hat on the end of 
the pencil. 

When you 
slide the pencil 
along the casing, do it without any 
apparent effort, and it will appear to 
your audience as though you had hyp¬ 
notized it. This is a very neat trick 
if performed right. Figure 1 shows 
the pencil on the casing and Fig. 2 the 
hat hanging on it. 


Tying a Knot for Footballs 

One of the most prominent English 
football clubs kept the tying of this 
knot on the rubber hose of their foot¬ 
ball a secret and never allowed all of 
its members to know how it was tied. 
This tie can be used on grain sacks, 
and in numerous other like instances. 
Make one loop in the cord and then 
another exactly the same way, as 


_ Fig 1 

A Secure Knot 

shown in Fig. 1, placing the end of 
the cord under the first loop, then 
pulling at each end of the cord as in 
Fig. 2.—A. E. J. 


CStove polish consists of 2 parts 
graphite, 4 parts copperas and 2 parts 
boneblack, mixed with water to form 
a paste. 


How to Give an Electric Shock 
While Shaking Hands 

There is nothing quite so startling 
as to receive an electric shock unex¬ 
pectedly and such a shock may be 
given to a friend while shaking hands 
upon meeting. The shock produced 
is not harmful and the apparatus can 
be carried in the pocket. It consists 
of a small induction coil that can be 
constructed at home. 

The core of the coil, A, Fig. 1, is con¬ 
structed in the usual manner, of 
small soft-iron wire to make a bundle 
about T 3 e in- in diameter and 2 in. long. 
The coil ends are made from card¬ 
board, about 1 in. in diameter, with 
a iVin. hole in the center. The hole 



should be cut as shown in Fig. 2, so 
as to have four small pieces that can 
be bent out, leaving the projections as 
shown. After wrapping three or four 
turns of paper around the bundle of 
wires the cardboard ends are put on 
with the projections inside, so the coils 
of wire will hold them in place. About 
70 turns of No. 24 gauge double- 
covered magnet wire is first placed on 
the core, for the primary, and then 
1,500 turns of No. 32 or 34 gauge 
double-covered wire is wrapped on top 
of the primary, for th& secondary. Suf¬ 
ficient length of wire must be left out¬ 
side at each end of both windings to 
make connections. The vibrator B, 
Fig. 1, and the support C are made 
from thin spring steel, about % in. 
wide, bent as shown and securely 
fastened to the cardboard end of the 
coil. The armature is made from a 
soft piece of iron, about T 3 g in. in 
diameter and ^ in. thick, which is 


































134 


soldered to the end of the vibrator di¬ 
rectly opposite the end of the core. A 
small screw is fitted in the end of the 
support, C, for adjustment, which 
should be tipped with platinum and 
also a small piece of platinum placed 
where the screw will touch the vibra¬ 
tor, B. 

One of the primary wires is con¬ 
nected to the screw support. The vi¬ 
brator is connected to a flash lamp bat¬ 
tery, D. The other primary wire is 
connected to a switch, S, which in turn 
is connected to the other terminal ot 
the battery. The switch, S, may be 
made from a f-in. cork with the wires 
put through about in. apart and 
allow them to project about \ in. The 
plate E is cut about J in. square from a 
piece of copper and is fastened to the 
heel of one shoe and connected with a 
wire from the secondary coil which 
must be concealed inside of the trouser 
leg. The other secondary wire is con¬ 
nected through the coat sleeve to a 
finger ring, F. The vibrator screw must 
be properly adjusted. When the vi¬ 
brator is not working the armature 
should be about in. from the core 
and directly opposite. 

The coil when complete will be about 
2J in. long and 1 in. in diameter. The 
coil can be placed in an old box that 
has been used for talcum powder or 
shaving stick. The space around the 
coil in the box can be filled with paper 
to keep it tight. 

The coil and battery are carried in 
the pockets and the cork button put in 
the outside coat pocket, where it can 
be pressed without attracting attention. 

-»♦- 

Experiment with Heat 

Place a small piebe of paper, lighted, 
in an ordinary water 
glass. While the pa¬ 
per is burning turn 
the glass over and set 
into a saucer pre¬ 
viously filled with 
water. The water 
will rapidly rise in 
the glass, as shown in the sketch. 



Fig. 2 


How to Attach a Combination 
Trunk Lock 


A small combination lock for chests 
can be purchased for a small sum of 
money and attached to a trunk cover 
after first removing the old lock as 
shown in Fig. 1. It is necessary to 
add -J in. to the thickness of the trunk 
lid or cover. This may be done by 
placing a brass plate -J in. thick on the 
outside and a board § in. thick on the 
inside. The lock, brass plate, board 
and trunk cover are all securely riveted 
together. The support for the dial is 
soldered to the brass plate. 

The hasp, if that be the name for 
the double toothed arrangement that 
catches into the lock, was to be se¬ 
cured by only three brass screws, which 
seemed to be insufficient, says a cor¬ 
respondent of the Metal Worker; 
therefore a piece of heavy tin was 
formed over the front of the trunk, 
which is only f-in. board, the hasp 
tinned and soldered to the back of the 
now U-shaped tin, and the tin placed 
over the board and all fastened in posi- 































































135 


tion. The tin is 4 in. wide, 16 in. 
long and when placed over the board, 
it laps down about 8 in. between the 
boards, and the same distance inside 
of the new hoard, as shown by the 
heavy line in the cross section, Fig. 1. 
Wrought nails are used which pass 
twice through the tin and both boards, 
and then well clinched. The three 
screws were then put in the hasp. 

The knob on the dial extends out 
too far, which may be filed off and two 
holes substituted, as shown, with which 


to operate the dial. An old key is filed 
down in the shape shown in Fig. 2 to 
fit the two holes. 

As the dial is convex it will need 
protection to prevent injuiry by rough 
handling. A leather shield may be 
used for this purpose, which is cut 
with two holes, one for the key and 
the other to permit the operator to 
observe the numbers on the dial. The 
shield answers a further purpose of 
preventing any bystander from noting 
the numbers on the dial. 


-»♦ ♦- 

AN ELECTRIC ILLUSION BOX 


The accompanying engravings show 
a most interesting form of electrically 
operated illusion consisting of a box 
divided diagonally and each division 
alternately lighted with an electric 
lamp. By means of an automatic ther¬ 
mostat arranged in the lamp circuit 
causing the lamps to light successively, 
an aquarium apparently ~ 
without fish one moment 
is in the next instant 
swarming with live gold 
fish; an empty vase 
viewed through the open¬ 
ing in the box suddenly 
is filled with flowers, or 
an empty cigar box is 
seen and immediately is 
filled with cigars. 

These electric magic 
boxes as shown are made 
of metal and oxidized copper finished, 
but for ordinary use they can be made 
of wood in the same shape and size. 
The upper magic boxes as are shown in 
the engraving are about 12 in. square 
and 8J in. high for parlor use and the 
lower boxes are 18 in. square and 10-J 
in. high for use in window displays. 
There is a partition arranged diagonally 
in the box as shown in the plan view, 
which completely divides the box into 
two parts. One-half the partition is 
fitted with a plain, clear glass as shown. 
The partition and interior of the box 
are rendered non-reflecting by painting 
with a dull, not shiny, black color. 


When making of wood, a door must be 
provided on the side or rear to make 
changes of exhibits. If the box is made 
large enough, or in the larger size men¬ 
tioned, openings may be made in the 
bottom for this purpose, and also used 
in case of performing the magic trick 
of allowing two persons to place their 



Construction of Magic Boxes 

heads in the box and change from one 
to the other. 

The electric globes are inserted as 
shown at LL through the top of the 
box, one in each division. When the 
rear part is illuminated, any article 
arranged within that part will be vis¬ 
ible to the spectator looking into the 
box through the front opening, but 
when the front part is illuminated, and 
the back left dark, any article placed 
therein will be reflected in the glass, 
which takes the same position to the 
observer as the one in the rear. Thus 
a plain aquarium is set in the rear part 
and one with swimming fish placed in 






















Four Electric Magic Boxes Complete for Use 


the front, and with the proper illumi¬ 
nation one is changed, as it appears, 
into the other. When using as a win¬ 
dow display, place the goods in one 
part and the price in the other. Many 
other changes can be made at the will 
of the operator. 

Electric lamps may be controlled by 
various means to produce different ef¬ 
fects. Lamps may be connected in 
parallel and each turned on or off by 
means of a hand-operated switch or the 
button on the lamp socket, or if de¬ 
sired a hand-operated adjustable re¬ 
sistance may be included in the circuit 
of each lamp for gradually causing the 
object to fade away or reappear slowly. 

Instead of changing the current op¬ 
erated by hand, this may be done auto¬ 
matically by connecting the lamps in 
parallel on the lighting circuit and each 
connected in series with a thermostatic 
switch plug provided with a heating 
coil which operates to automatically 
open and close the circuit through the 
respective lamp. 

When there is no electric current 
available, matches or candles may be 
used and inserted through the holes H, 
as shown in the sketch, alternately. 

♦ • ♦- 

fainting over putty that has not be¬ 
come dry will cause scaling or cracking 
around the edges of the putty. 


Photo Print Washing Tank 


The accompanying sketch shows a 
simple form of a print washing tank 
that tips from side to side by the weight 
of the water. For prints 4 by 5 and 
5 by 7 in. a tank 2 ft. long and 1 ft. 
wide will be about the right size. This 
tank is then divided with a partition 
placed exactly in the center. This par¬ 
tition should extend 3 or 4 in. above 
the top of the tank. The partition 
may also extend below the tank about 
1^ in., or a piece of this width put on 
the bottom, as shown at A in the sketch. 



A row of holes about \ in. in diameter 
is bored through each end of the tank, 
as shown at B. These holes will allow 
the water to spill out while the oppo¬ 
site side is filling. The tank may be 
made from -J-in. material and when 































137 


completed as shown, lined with oil cloth 
to make it watertight. The tank is 
placed with the partition directly under 
a water tap and the flow of water will 
cause it to tip from time to time, keep¬ 
ing the prints constantly moving about 
in the water. 


Home=Made Soldering Clamps 


Take a cotter pin and bend it over 
a small rod to bring the points together, 
as shown in the sketch. This will make 
a spring clamp that is 
opened to slip over the 
articles to be clamped 
together by inserting a 
scratch awl or scriber 
between the legs at the 
bowed portion. To 
make a more positive 
clamp before bending 
the legs to a bow, slip a 
short coil of wire over 
the pin, passing it down 
to the ring end. Wire 
1 / 32 in. in diameter wound over a wire 
slightly larger in diameter than that of 
the cotter will do. In soldering, smoke 
the legs well to avoid solder adhering 
to them. The clamp is tightened by 
pushing up the coil ring toward the 
bow of the legs and then twisting it like 
a nut, the coil being wound right- 
handed, so that it will have a screw 
effect. 


A Telephone Experiment 


If the small apparatus, as shown in 
the accompanying sketch, is attached 
to the under side of an ordinary dining 
table, it will, if connected to a tele¬ 
phone circuit, set the table in vibra¬ 
tion, so that any number of people 
who put their ears flat upon the table 
will hear the voice of a person speak¬ 
ing from a distance, apparently com¬ 
ing out of the table, says the Model 
Engineer. 

A small piece of wood, A, Fig. 1, is 
cut about 5 in. square, to the center 
of which is attached a small piece of 
soft iron wire, such as used for cores 



Mechanical Table Talk 


of induction coils, about 4 in. long and 
bent in the form of a hook at the lower 
end, as shown at B. This wire is at¬ 
tached to the block of wood, A, as 
shown in Fig. 2. The end of the 
wire is soldered to a small brass plate 
which is set in the block so it will 
be level or, flush with the top of the 
block and then fastened with two 
screws. The block A is fastened to the 
under side of the table with two screws. 
A small coil, C, is made by winding 
No. 24 silk or cotton covered wire 
around a small tube, either a piece of 
glass, a short straw or a quill. The 
coil is made tapering as shown without 
using wood ends. This coil is slipped 
over the wire B previous to soldering 
it to the small brass plate. The ends 
of the coil are connected to two bind¬ 
ing-posts which are fastened to the 
block A. A small lead weight weigh¬ 
ing 2 or 3 oz. is hung on the hook made 
in the lower end of the wire B. 

When all connections are made, as 
shown in Fig. 1, and the block fas¬ 
tened to the under side of the table, 
the apparatus is ready for use, and has 
only to be connected to an ordinary 
telephone transmitter and batteries as 
shown. The apparatus will work to a 
certain extent even if the weight is re¬ 
moved, though not so clear. 

-♦ ♦- 

Some workmen use tallow on lag or 
wood screws. Try beeswax for this 
purpose. It is much cleaner to use a <d 
is just as good if not better. 



















138 


How to Make an Induction Coil 

A small shocking coil, suitable for 
medical purposes, may be constructed 
of materials found in nearly every ama¬ 
teur mechanic’s collection of odds and 
ends. The core, A, Fig. 1, is a piece 
of round soft iron rod 
about i in. in diameter 
and about 4 in. long. 

A strip of stiff paper 
about f in. wide is cov¬ 
ered with glue and 
wrapped around one end 
of the core, as shown 
at B, until the diameter 
is about $ in. The por¬ 
tion of the core remain¬ 
ing uncovered is then wrapped with a 
piece of paper about 4 in. wide. No 
glue is used on this piece, as it is 
removed later to form the space, C, 
after the paper shell, D, has been 
wound upon it. This paper shell is 
made of stiff paper and glue the same 
as B and is made about 3/64 in. thick. 
Two pieces of hardwood, EE, If in. 
square and about in. thick, are 
drilled in the center and glued on the 
ends of the paper shell as shown. 

The primary winding consists of 4 
or 5 layers of No. 18 or 20 single 
cotton-covered magnet wire, the ends 
'of which may be passed through small 
holes in the wooden ends. If a drill 
small enough is not available, the holes 
may be made with a hot knitting 
needle or a piece of wire heated to 
redness. After the primary coil is 
wound it should be thoroughly in¬ 
sulated before winding the secondary. 
This may be done by wrapping with 
4 or 5 thicknesses of paper. 

The secondary coil should be wound 
with single covered wire, preferably 
silk-covered, although cotton will do. 
The more turns there are on the sec¬ 
ondary the higher the voltage will be, 
so the wire used must be fine. Num¬ 
ber 32 to 36 will give good results, the 
latter giving more voltage but less am¬ 
perage. Each layer of the secondary 
winding should be insulated from the 
others by a piece of thin paraffined 


paper wrapped over each layer as 
it is finished. It is well not 
to wind to the extreme ends of the 
paper insulations, but to leave a space 
of about ^ in. at each end of the wind¬ 
ing to prevent the wires of one layer 
slipping over the ends of 'the paraffin 


paper and coming in contact with the 
layer beneath, thus causing a short cir¬ 
cuit. The secondary winding should 
have at least a dozen layers and should 
be carefully wound to prevent short 
circuiting. 

In order to reduce the strength of 
the current a piece of brass tubing, 
3SJ, is pushed into the space, C, sur¬ 
rounding the core, or if no brass tub¬ 
ing of the required size is on hand, roll 
a paper tube, cover with 4 or 5 thick¬ 
nesses of tinfoil and then wrap with 
more paper, using glue to hold the tin- 
foil in place and to keep the tube from 
unwinding. When the tube is pushed 
all the way in, the current produced 



will be almost unnoticeable, but when 
it is withdrawn the current will be so 
strong that a person cannot let go the 
handles until the coil is shut off. After 
the secondary coil is wound it should 
be covered with stiff paper, and the 
whole eoil, including the wood ends, 
should then be enameled black. 

It is then ready to be mounted on a 
wooden base as shown in Fig. 2. The 







































130 


secondary terminals are connected to 
the binding-posts, AA, which may be 
fastened on the base if desired. One 
wire from the primary is connected 
with the binding-post, B, and the other 
is connected with the armature, D, 
which may be taken from an old elec¬ 
tric bell. The contact screw, E, also 
from an electric bell, is connected to 
the binding-post, C. The contact 
spring, F, should be bent against and 
soldered to the armature in order to 
make the vibrations more rapid. 

If a false bottom is used on the base, 
all the wiring may be concealed, which 
adds greatly to the appearance, and if 
desired a small switch may be added. 
The handles, which may be old bicycle 
pumps or electric light carbons, are 
connected to the binding-posts, AA, by 
means of wires about 3 nr 4 ft. long. 
This coil when operating with the tube 
pulled all the way out and connected to 
a single dry cell will give a current 
stronger than most persons can stand. 


Home-Made Toaster 


Each outside frame of the toaster 
is made from one piece of wire 30 in. 
long. These are bent in a perfect 
square making each side 7 in. long. 
This will allow 1 in. on each end for 
tying by twisting the ends together. 
The first two wires inside and on each 
side of each frame are 8 in. long. 
Eight wires will be required for this 
purpose and as they are 8 in. long -J 
in. is allowed on each end for a bend 
around the outside frame, as shown 
in the sketch. The two middle wires 
are extensions of the handles. Each 
of these wires are made from a piece 
about 26 in. long and bent in the shape 
of a U. The ends of the wire are bent 
around the frame in the same manner 



as the other wires. This will leave the 
handle laying across the other side of 
the frame. The frame is fastened to 
the handle on this side by giving the 
handle one turn around the frame. 
The inside edges of the frame are now 
tied together with a small ring of wire 
which is loose enough to allow each 
half to swing freely.—C. D. M. 

-»-♦ ♦- 

Home-Made Shocking Machine 


An ordinary electric bell may be 
connected up in such a way as to pro¬ 
duce the same results as an expensive 



shocking machine. The connections 
are made from the batteries to the bell 
in the usual manner. Two other wires 
are then connected, one to the bind¬ 
ing-post of the bell that is not insu¬ 
lated from the frame and the other to 
the adjusting screw on the make and 
break contact of the bell as shown in 
the sketch. The other ends of the 
wires are connected each to a common 
table knife. This will give quite a 
good shock and a much larger one can 
be had by placing one knife in a basin 
of water and while holding the other 
knife in one hand, dipping the fingers 
of the other hand in the water—Con¬ 
tributed by D. Foster Hall. 


Mix Venetian red with quite thick 
arabic muscilage, making it into a 
putty, and press this well into the 
cracks of mahogany before finishing. 
The putty should be colored to suit the 
finish of the wood, says the Master 
Painter, by adding such dry color to 
the gum as will give the best result. 











140 


How to Make a Thermoelectric 
Battery 

By ARTHUR E. JOERIN 


A novel way of producing an elec¬ 
tric current by means of hot and cold 
water, heat from a match or alcohol 



lamp, is obtained from a device con¬ 
structed as shown in the sketch. Take 
two hardwood boards, marble, or slate 
plates, about 8 or 10 in. long, place 
them together, as in Fig. 1, and mark 
and drill about 500 holes. These two 
pieces should be separated about 8 in. 
and fastened with boards across the 
ends, as shown in Fig. 2. 

Take soft copper wire, not smaller 
than No. 18 gauge, and cut in lengths 
to pass through the holes in the two 
boards, leaving sufficient end to make 
a tie. It will require about 70 ft. of 
wire to fill one-half the number of 
holes. Also, cut the same number of 
lengths from the same gauge galvan— 
ized-iron wire to fill the remaining 
holes. The wires are put through the 
holes in the boards alternately, that is: 
begin with copper, the next hole with 
iron, the next copper, the next iron, 
and so on, twisting the ends together 
as shown in Fig. 3. The connections, 
when complete, should be copper for 
the first and iron for the last wire. 

When the whole apparatus is thus 
strung, the connections, which must be 
twisted, can be soldered. Connect one 
copper wire to the bell and the other 
terminal, which must be an iron wire, 
to the other post of the bell. The appa¬ 
ratus is then short-circuited, yet there 
is no current in the instrument until 


a lighted match, or, better still, the 
flame of an alcohol lamp is placed at 
one end only. 

Best results are obtained by putting 
ice or cold water on one side and a 
flame on the other. The experimenter 
may also place the whole apparatus 
under sink faucets with the hot water 
turned on at one terminal and the cold 
water at the other. The greater the 
difference of temperature in the two 
terminals, the more current will be ob¬ 
tained. 

Very interesting experiments may 
thus be performed, and these may lead 
to the solving of the great thermo¬ 
electric problem. 


How to Make a Hygrometer 

Mount a wire on a board which is 
used for a base and should be % by 
4 by 8 in., as shown in the sketch. A 
piece of catgut—a string used on a 
violin will do—is suspended from the 
bent end of the wire. A hand or 
pointer is cut from a piece of tin and 
secured to the catgut string about % 
in. from the base. A small piece of 
wood and some glue will fasten the 
pointer to the string. The scale is 



with a piece of glass.—Contributed by 
J. Thos. Rhamstine. 


Softening Leather in Gloves and Boots 

The leather in high-top boots and 
gauntlet gloves may be softened and 
made waterproof by the use of plain 
mutton tallow. Apply hot and rub in 
well with the fingers. 





















































141 


How to Make a Mission Library Table 



The mission library table, the draw¬ 
ings for which are here given, has been 
found well proportioned and of pleas¬ 
ing appearance. It can be made of 
any of the several furniture woods in 
common use, such as 
selected, quarter-sawed 
white oak which will be 
found exceptionally 
pleasing in the effect 
produced. 

If a planing mill is 
at hand the stock can 
be ordered in such a 
way as to avoid the 
hard work of planing 
and sandpapering. Of 
course if mill-planed 
stock cannot be had, the 
following dimensions 
must be enlarged slight¬ 
ly to allow for “squar¬ 
ing up the rough.” 

For the top, order 1 
piece 1^ in. thick, 34 
in. wide and 46 in. long. 

Have it S-4-S (surface on four sides) 
and “squared” to length. Also, specify 
that it be sandpapered on the top sur¬ 
face, the edges and ends. 

For the shelf, order 1 piece f- in. 
thick, 22 in. wide and 42 in. long, with 
the four sides surfaced, squared and 
sandpapered the same as for the top. 

For the side rails, order 2 pieces f in. 
thick, 6 in. wide and 37 in. long, S-4-S 
and sanded on one side. For the end 


rails, 2 pieces J in. thick, 6 in. wide and 
25 in. long. Other specifications as for 
the side rails. 

For the stretchers, into which the 
shelf tenons enter, 2 pieces 1J in. thick, 


3f in. wide and 25 in. long, surfaced 
and sanded on four sides. For the 
slats, 10 pieces § in. thick, 1J in. wide 
and 17 in. long, surfaced and sanded on 
four sides. For the keys, 4 pieces j in. 
thick, 1\ in. wide and 2J in. long, 
S-4-S. This width is a little wide; it 
will allow the key to be shaped as 
desired. 

The drawings obviate any necessity 
for going into detail in the descrip- 


This Picture is from a Photograph of the Mission Table Described 
in This Article 

























































142 



tion. Fig. 1 gives an assembly draw¬ 
ing showing the relation of the parts. 
Fig. 2 gives the detail of an end. The 
tenons for the side rails are laid off 
and the mortises placed in the post as 
are those on the end. Care must be 
taken, however, not to cut any mortises 
on the post, below, as was done in cut¬ 
ting the stretcher mortises on the ends 
of the table. A good plan is to set the 
posts upright in the positions they are 
to occupy relative to one another and 
mark with pencil the approximate posi¬ 
tions of the mortises. The legs can 
then be laid flat and the mortises accur- 
rately marked out with a fair degree 
of assurance that they will not be cut 
where they are not wanted and that the 
legs shall “pair” properly when effort is 
made to assemble the parts of the table. 

The table ends should be glued up 
first and the glue allowed to harden, 
after which the tenons of the shelf may 
be inserted and the side rails placed. 

There is a reason for the shape, size 
and location of each tenon or mortise. 
For illustration, the shape of the tenon 
on the top rails permits the surface of 
the rail to extend almost flush with the 
surface of the post at the same time 
permitting the mortise in the post to 


be kept away from that surface. Again, 
the shape of the ends of the slats is 
such that, though they may vary 
slightly in length, the fitting of the 
joints will not be affected. Care must 
be taken in cutting the mortises to keep 
their sides clean and sharp and to size. 

In making the mortises for the keyed 
tenons, the length of mortise must be 
slightly in excess of the width of the 
tenon—about -J in. of play to each side 
of each tenon. With a shelf of the 
width specified for this table, if such 
allowance is not made so that the tenons 
may move sideways, the shrinkage 
would split the shelf. 

In cutting across the ends of the 
shelf, between the tenons, leave a hole 
in the waste so that the turning saw or 
compass saw can be inserted. Saw 
within one-sixteenth of the line, after 
which this margin may be removed with 
chisel and mallet. 

In Fig. 3 is shown two views of the 
keyed tenon and the key. The mortise 
for the key is to be placed in the middle 
of the tenon. It will be noted that this 
mortise is laid out 1 T V in. from the 
shoulder of the tenon while the 
stretcher is 1| in. thick. This is to 
insure the ke/s pulling the shelf 





































































143 


tightly against the side of the stretcher. 

Keys may be made in a variety of 
shapes. The one shown is simple and 
structurally good. Whatever shape is 
used, the important thing to keep in 
mind is that the size of the key and the 
slant of its forward surface where it 
passes through the tenon must be kept 
the same as the mortise made for it in 
the tenon. 

The top is to be fastened to the rails 
by means either of wooden buttons, Fig. 
4, or small angle irons. 

There are a bewildering number of 
mission finishes upon the market. A 
very satisfactory one is obtained by ap¬ 
plying a coat of brown Flemish water 
stain, diluted by the addition of water 
in the proportion of 2 parts water to 
1 part stain. When this has dried, sand 
with number 00 paper, being careful 
not to “cut through.” Next, apply a 
coat of dark brown filler; the directions 
for doing this will be found upon the 
can in which the filler is bought. One 
coat usually suffices. However, if an 
especially smooth surface is desired a 
second coat may be applied in a similar 
manner. 

After the filler has hardened, a very 
thin coat of shellac is to be put on. 
When this has dried it should be 
sanded lightly and then one or two 
coats of wax should be properly applied 
and polished. Directions for waxing 
are upon the cans in which the wax is 
bought. A beautiful dull gloss so much 
sought by finishers of modern furniture 
will be the result of carefully following 
these directions. 


A Hanger for Trousers 

Secure two clothes pins of the metal 
spring kind for the clamps of the 
hanger. The pins 
are fastened one 
to each end of a 
looped galvanized 
wire. This wire 
should be about 
6 in. long after a 
coil is bent in the center as shown in 
the sketch. The diameter of the wire 
should be about -§ in. 


How to Make an Adjustable Neg= 
ative Washer 


The sketch herewith shows a wash¬ 
ing box for negatives made from an 
ordinary wooden box. As can be seen, 
the grooved partition, A, is removable, 
and as several places are provided for 



its insertion, the tank can be made to 
accommodate any one of several sizes of 
plates, says Camera Craft. The other 
stationary partition, B, which does not 
reach quite to the bottom of the tank, 
is placed immediately next to the end of 
the tank, leaving a channel between the 
two for the inflow of the wash water. 
A narrow, thin strip, C, is fastened to 
the bottom of the tank to keep the 
plates slightly raised, at the same time 
allowing a clearer flow of the water 
from the bottom upwards to the dis¬ 
charge. 

The water enters the narrow parti¬ 
tion at the end, flows under the parti¬ 
tions B and A, then upward between 
and parallel to the surface of the plates, 
escaping at the opposite end over the 
top of the tank end, in which the up¬ 
per part has been cut away for that 
purpose. The depth of this cut, in the 
upper part of the tank end, should allow 
the overflow to be a trifle higher than 
the width of the largest size plate for 
which the tank is fitted. Partition B 
being stationary, can be nailed in posi¬ 
tion permanently, allowing the bottom 
edge to clear the bottom of the tank the 
desired distance. Partition A being 
movable should have attached to its 





















144 


bottom edge a couple of nails, D, or bet¬ 
ter still, wooden pegs, which will keep 
it also above the bottom of the tank at 
the desired height. 

A coat of paraffin paint should be 
applied, and, just before it sets per¬ 
fectly hard, any rough spots trimmed 
down with a knife or chisel and a sec¬ 
ond lighter coat applied. If the wood 
is very dry and porous a preliminary 
coat of the paint should be applied and 
allowed to soak into the pores. It is 
also well to apply a coat of the paint 
to the joints at the corners and around 
the edge of the bottom before nailing 
together. 


Turn=Down Shelf for a Small Space 


The average amateur photographer 
does not have very much space in which 
to do his work. The kitchen is the 
room used ordinarily for finishing the 
photographs. In many instances there 
will not be space enough for any extra 
tables, and so a temporary place is pre¬ 
pared from boxes or a chair on which 
to place the trays and chemicals. 
Should there be space enough on one 
of the walls a shelf can be made to 
hang down out of the way when not in 
use. A shelf constructed on this order 
may be of any length to suit the space 
or of such a length for the purpose in¬ 
tended. A heavy piece of wood, about 



1J in. thick, and 4 to 6 in. wide, is 
first fastened to the w T all at the proper 
height with nails, or, much better, large 
screws. 

The shelf is cut and planed smooth 
from a board 12 in. wide and about 
1 in. thick. This board is fastened to 


the piece on the wall with two hinges 
as shown in Fig. 1. A small cleat is 
nailed to the outer and under edge of 
the board and in the middle as shown. 
This is used to place a support under 
the outer edge of the shelf. The sup¬ 
port, A, Fig. 2, should be long enough 
to extend diagonally to the floor or 
top of the baseboard from the inner 
edge of the cleat when the shelf is up 
in its proper place.—L. L. 


Home=Made Electric Battery 
Massage 


A simple and cheap electric massage 
device can be made by using three or 



four cells of dry battery connected to 
two ordinary silver tablespoons, as 
shown in the sketch. The handles of 
the spoons should be insulated or the 
operator can wear either kid or rubber 
gloves. 


How to Make Tint Lantern Slides 


Purchase some lantern slide plates 
and fix them in hypo without exposing, 
in the usual manner, same as you would 
an exposed plate, says the Moving Pic¬ 
ture World. This leaves a thin, per¬ 
fectly transparent emulsion film on the 
glass, which will readily take color. 
Mix a rather weak solution of clear 
aniline dye of the desired color and 
dip the plate in it, wiping the plate 
side clean. If not dark enough, dip 
again and again until desired tint is 
attained, letting it dry between each 
dipping. A very light blue tint slide 
will brighten a yellow film considera¬ 
bly, but the tint must be very light, 
just a bare tint. 




















145 


A Bicycle Catamaran 


The accompanying photographs show 
a bicycle boat made to carry two per¬ 


sons. This boat is constructed by using 
two galvanized iron tubes 18 ft. long 
and 12 in. in diameter, tapered at the 
front end down to cast-iron points, and 
the rear end shaped to attach rudders. 
These tubes are placed 26 in. apart, 
giving the boat an extreme width of 
50 in. 

The cylinders support a platform and 
on the rear end of this platform is con¬ 
structed a paddle wheel 52 in. in 
diameter with 16 spokes. On the end 
of each spoke is fastened a galvanized 
sheet metal blade 6 in. wide and 8 in. 
long. A large guard placed over the 
paddle wheel forms a seat for one per¬ 
son and a chair in front on the plat¬ 
form provides a place for a second 
person. 

The person in front helps to propel 
the boat with hand levers which are 
connected with rods to sprocket wheels 
on each side of the platform. The 
occupant of the rear seat contributes 
his part of the power with his feet on 
pedals of the shaft that carries the 
sprocket wheels. This shaft and 
sprocket wheels drive the paddle wheel 
by side chains of the bicycle kind. The 
boat is steered from the rear seat by 
ropes attached to double rudders. This 
boat will run at considerable speed and 
is very steady in rough water as it goes 


directly through large waves instead of 
going over them.—Contributed by 
Ernest Schoedsack, Council Bluffs, 
Iowa. 


How to Make a Lead Pencil 
Rheostat 


Take an ordinary lead pencil and cut 
seven notches at equal intervals on the 
pencil down to and around the lead, 
leaving it bare. A seven-point switch 
is constructed on a board of suitable 
size making the points by using screws 
that will go through the board. A 
small piece of tin or brass will do for 
a switch and is fastened as shown. The 
connections are made on the back side 
of the board as shown by the dotted 
lines. This will reduce 40 to 50 volts 
down to 5 or 10 volts for short lengths 



of time.—Contributed by Boy Newby, 
San Jose, Cal. 



This Catamaran Carries Two People 

























146 


Homemade Shoe Rack 


The accompanying sketch explains 
how a boy can make his own shoe 
rack that can be placed on the wall in 



the clothes closet. Figure 1 shows 
the construction of the bottom to per¬ 
mit the dirt to fall through. Two 
boards, 9 in. wide and about 3 ft. long, 
with six partitions between, as shown, 
will make pockets about 6 in. long. 
The width of the pockets at the bottom 
is 2 in. and at the top 5 in.—Con¬ 
tributed by Guy H. Harvey, Mill Val¬ 
ley, Cal. 


How to Waterproof Canvas 

The method used by the British 
navy yards for waterproofing and 
painting canvas so it will not become 


paint to be used. The mixture is ap¬ 
plied to the canvas with a brush. This 
is allowed to dry for two days and 
then a coat of the same paint, without 
the soap, is laid on. When this last 
coat is dry the canvas may be painted 
any color desired. After three days of 
drying the canvas may be folded up 
without sticking together, and is, of 
course, waterproof. Canvas water¬ 
proofed in this manner makes an ex¬ 
cellent covering for portable canoes 
and canvas boats. The color mixture 
for the soap and second application is 
made from 1 lb. of lampblack and 6 lb. 
of yellow ocher, both in oil; the finish 
coat may be any color desired. When 
no paint is to be used on the canvas it 
may be waterproofed with a mixture 
made from soft soap dissolved in hot 
water, and a solution of iron sulphate 
added. Iron sulphate, or ferrous sul¬ 
phate, is the green vitriol. The vitriol 
combines with the potash of the soap, 
and the iron oxide is precipitated with 
the fatty acid as insoluble iron soap. 
This precipitate is then washed, dried 
and mixed with linseed oil. 


Building a House in a Tree Top 

The accompanying photograph 
shows a small house built in a tree top 
20 ft. from the ground. The house is 



Lofty Sentry Box for Guarding Watermelon Patch 


stifif and cracked is as follows: One 5 ft. wide, 5 ft. 1 in. long, and 6 ft. 6 
ounce of yellow soap and % pt. of hot in. high. A small platform, 2 ft. wide, is 
water are mixed with every 7 lb. of built on the front. Three windows are 
























147 


provided, one for each side, and a 
door in front. The entrance is made 
through a trap door in the floor of the 
house. This house was constructed by 


a hoy 14 years old and made for the 
purpose of watching over a melon 
patch.—Contributed by Mack Wilson, 
Columbus, 0. 


-»-♦ - 

How to Make a Lamp Stand and Shade 


A library light stand of pleasing de- 
sign and easy construction is made as 
follows: Square up a piece of white 
oak so that it shall have a width and 
thickness of If in. with a length of 13 
in. Square up two pieces of the same 
kind of material to the same width and 
thickness, but with a length of 12 in. 
each. Square up two pieces to a width 
and length of 3 in. each with a thick¬ 
ness of 1-J in. 

If a planing mill is near, time and 
patience will be saved by ordering one 
piece If in. square and 40 in. long, two 
pieces 1^ in. thick and 3 in. square, 
all planed and sandpapered on all sur¬ 
faces. The long piece can then be cut 
at home to the lengths specified above. 

The 13-in. piece is for the upright 
and should have a -|-in. hole bored the 
full length through the center. If the 
bit is not long enough to reach entirely 
through, bore from each end, then use 
a red-hot iron to finish. This hole is 
for the electric wire or gas pipe if gas 
is used. 

The two pieces for the base are alike 
except the groove of one is cut from 
the top and of the other from the under 
side, as shown. Shape the under sides 
first. This can best be done by plac¬ 
ing the two pieces in a vise, under sides 


together, and boring two holes with a 
1-in. bit. The center of each hole will 
be 2-J in. from either end and in the 
crack between the pieces. The pieces 
can then be taken out, lines gauged on 
each side of each, and the wood be¬ 
tween the holes removed with turning 
saw and scraper steel. 

The width of the grooves must be 
determined by laying one piece upon 
the other; a trysquare should be used 
to square the lines across the pieces, 
however, gauge for depth, gauging both 
pieces from their top surfaces. Chisel 
out the grooves and round off the cor¬ 
ners as shown in the sketch, using a 
f-in. radius. 

These parts may be put together and 
fastened to the upright by means of 
two long screws from the under side, 
placed to either side of the J-in. hole. 
This hole must be continued through 
the pieces forming the base. 

The braces are easiest made by tak¬ 
ing the two pieces which were planed to 
1^ in. thick and 3 in. square and draw¬ 
ing a diagonal on each. Find the 
middle of this diagonal by drawing the 
central portion of the other diagonal; 
at this point place the spur of the bit 
and bore a 1-in. hole in each block. 

Saw the two blocks apart, sawing 



Details of Construction of Library Lamp Stand 






























































148 


along a diagonal of each. Plane the 
surfaces on the saw cut smooth and 
sandpaper the curve made by the bit. 
Fasten the braces in place by means of 
roundhead blued screws. 

To make a shade such as is shown 
in the illustration is rather difficult. 
The shade is made of wood glued up 
and has art glass fitted in rabbets cut 
on the inner edges. Such shades can 
be purchased ready to attach. The 
sketch shows one method of attaching. 
Four small pieces of strap iron are 
bent to the shape shown and fastened 
to the four sides of the upright. Elec¬ 
tric globes—two, three or four may be 
attached as shown. 

The kind of wood finish for the 
stand will depend upon the finish on 
the wooden shade, if shade is pur¬ 
chased. Brown Flemish is obtained by 
first staining the wood with Flemish 
water stain diluted by the addition of 
two parts water to one part stain. 
When this is dry, sandpaper the 
“whiskers” which were raised by the 
water and fill with a medium dark 
filler. Directions will be found on the 
filler cans. When the filler has hard¬ 
ened, apply two coats of wax. 

The metal shade as shown in the 
sketch is a “layout” for a copper or 
brass shade of a size suitable for this 
particular lamp. Such shades are fre¬ 
quently made from one piece of sheet 
metal and designs are pierced in them 
as suggested in the “layout.” This 
piercing is done by driving the point 
of a nail through the metal from the 
under side before the parts are soldered 
or riveted together. If the parts are 
to be riveted, enough additional metal 
must be left on the last panel to allow 
for a lap. No lap is needed when 
joints are soldered. 

A better way, and one which will 
permit the use of heavier metal, is to 
cut each side of the shade separately 
and fasten them together by riveting a 
piece of metal over each joint. The 
shape of this piece can be made so as 
to accentuate the rivet heads and thus 
give a pleasing effect. 

For art-glass the metal panels are 



The Completed Lamp 


cut out, the glass is inserted from the 
under side and held in place by small 
clips soldered to the frame of the shade. 

Pleasing effects are obtained by us¬ 
ing one kind of metal, as brass, and 
reinforcing and riveting with another 
metal, such as copper. 



















Illuminating: a Watch Dial at Night 

This picture shows a watch holder, 
with a device to receive an ordinary 
electric pocket 
lamp and bat¬ 
tery. The bat¬ 
tery is set in a 
bracket under 
which a reflect¬ 
or extends down¬ 
ward to throw 
the light on the 
dial of the 
watch and to 
protect the eyes 
from the direct 
light. The en¬ 
tire stand and 
bracket are made 
from sheet metal. The base is formed 
to make a tray to hold pins and col¬ 
lar buttons. It is not necessary to 
seek in the darkness for a push button 
or switch, as in ordinary devices, but a 
light pressure with the palm of the 
hand will make the lamp glow. 

-♦- 

Home-Made Photographic Copying: 

Stand 

The difficulties of bad lighting on 
small articles can be entirely avoided 
by the use of a suitable support for the 
camera, the object and the background. 


plain background and no deep shadows. 
When using the stand as illustrated this 
is a very simple matter. Figure 1 shows 
the side, and Fig. 2 the front view of 
this stand. The stand is very easily 
constructed from pipe and pipe fit¬ 
tings. The main pipe of the stand will 
need to be of proper length to suit the 
focus of your camera. This can be 
determined by finding the length from 
the lens to the object after the bellows 
are extended to their full length. The 
arms holding the glass, as shown in the 
sketch, should be set at a point about 
the middle of the main tube. The cross 
that holds the middle arms should be 
J in. one way and \ in. the other. This 
will allow for adjustment of the glass 
table. A small set screw provided in 
the back of this cross will hold the table 
in any position desired. The pipes and 
other connections are all in. and the 
lengths of the pipes are made suitable 
for the size of the camera. When a 
small object is to be photographed it is 
placed upon the glass table and the 
background fastened to the board. In 
this manner small objects can be photo¬ 
graphed without any deep shadow on 
one side. The bottom cross and ells 
should be corked so as to prevent any 
slipping and damage to the floor. 


Home=Made Pocket Lamp 




Secures Good Light on Small Objects 

For illustrations it is often an advan¬ 
tage to show an object with a perfectly 


A simple and safe pocket lamp that 
will last for about 6 months without 
extra expense can be made at home for 
a few cents. 

Have your druggist take a strong 
vial of clear glass, or a pill bottle with 
screw or cork top and put into it a piece 
of phosphorus about the size of a pea 
and fill the bottle one-third full of pure 
olive oil that has been heated for 15 
minutes—-but not boiled. Cork tightly 
and the result will be a luminous light 
in the upper portion of the bottle. If 
the light becomes dim, uncork and re¬ 
cork again. The lamp will retain its 
brilliancy for about 6 months. This 
makes a perfectly safe lamp to carry. 
These lamps are used by watchmen of 




































150 


powder magazines. Care should be 
exercised in handling the phosphorus, 
as it is very poisonous. 


How to Make a Tangent 
Galvanometer 


Secure a piece of wood \ in. thick 
and cut out a ring with an outside 
diameter of 10J in. and an inside 
diameter of 9 in. and glue to each side 
two other rings £ in. thick with the 
same inside diameter as the first ring 
and 11 in. outside diameter, thus form¬ 
ing a J-in. channel in the circumfer¬ 
ence of the ring. If a lathe is at hand, 
this ring can be made from a solid 
piece and the channel turned out. Cut 
another circular piece 11 in. in diam¬ 
eter for a base. Make a hole in the 
center of this piece 1 in. wide and bye- 
in. long, into which the ring first made 
should fit so that its inner surface is 
just even with the upper surface of the 
baseboard. The ring is held upright 
in the hole by a small strip screwed to 
the base as shown. All screws and 
brads that are used must be of brass. 
The cutting of these circular pieces is 
not so difficult if a band saw driven by 
power is used. They can be cut by 
means of a key-hole saw if a band saw 
is not accessible. 

Before mounting the ring on the 
base, the groove should be wound with 
8 turns of No. 16 double cotton-covered 
magnet wire. The two ends may be 
tied together with a string to hold them 
temporarily. 

Fasten two strips of wood J in. thick, 
f in. wide and 11 in. long across the 
sides of the ring with their upper edges 
passing exactly through the center of 
the ring. An ordinary pocket compass, 
about 1J in. in diameter, is fitted in 
these strips so that the center of the 
needle or pointer will be exactly in the 
center of the ring and its zero point 
mark at the half-way point between 
the two strips. Put the ring in place 
on the base, as shown in the sketch, and 
connect the two ends of the wire to two 
binding-posts that are previously at¬ 
tached to the base. Coat the entire 


surface with brown shellac. Any 
deviation from the dimensions will 
cause errors in the results obtained by 
its use. 

Remove all pieces of iron or steel 
and especially magnets in the near 
vicinity of the instrument when in use. 
Place the galvanometer on a level table 
and turn it until the needle, pointing 
north and south, and swinging freely, 
lies exactly in the plane of the coil, as 
shown in the cut. The needle then 
will point to zero if the directions have 
been followed closely. Connect one 



cell of battery to the instrument and 
allow the current to flow through the 
coils. The needle of the compass will 
be deflected to one side or the other, 
and will finally come to rest at a cer¬ 
tain angle—let us say 45 deg. The 
dimensions of the instrument are such 
that when the deflection is 45 deg. the 
current flowing through the coils upon 
the ring is -J ampere. The ampere 
is the unit chosen to designate the 
strength of the electric current. For 
other angles the value of the current 
may be found from the following 
table: 


Angles. 

10 deg. 

20 “ . 

Current. 

.182 “ 

30 “ . 


40 “ .. 


45 “ . 


50 “ . 


55 “ . 


60 “ . 


70 “ . 



As the magnetic force that acts 
upon a magnet needle varies in differ¬ 
ent places the values given for the 
current will not be true in all parts of 






















, 151 


the country. The table gives correct 
values for the immediate vicinity of 
Chicago and that part of the United 
States lying east of Chicago, and north 
of the Ohio river. The results given 
should be multiplied by 1.3 for places 
south of the Ohio river and east of the 
Mississippi. 


Home=Made X=Ray Instrument 


Two cylinders, AA, are mounted on 
a base, B, and mirrors, CC, are fitted 
at an angle of 45 deg. into these cyl¬ 
inders. Corresponding mirrors, EE, 
are put in the base parallel with those 
in the cylinders. An opening extends 
downward from D of each cylinder so 
that light entering at one end of the 



cylinder is reflected down at right 
angles by the first mirror to the sec¬ 
ond, from the second to the third, from 
the third to the fourth which reflects 
the light to the eye. Thus the light 
never passes through the cylinders and 
the observer does not see through, but 
around any object inserted at X be¬ 
tween the cylinders. 


How to Make a Non=PoIarizing 
Battery 


Bichromate batteries are very ex¬ 
pensive to maintain and dry cells do 
not furnish enough amperage for some 
kinds of experimental work. A cell 
of battery that will run 10 hours with 
an output of over 1 ampere can be 
made as follows: Secure a jar about 
4 in. in diameter and 8 in. high and 
place in the bottom of this jar the 


lower half of a tin baking powder can, 
to which a wire has been soldered for 
connections. Place in the can a mix¬ 
ture of 2 oz. black oxide of copper, 
1 oz. black oxide of manganese and 
some iron filings. 

Purchase a small crowfoot zinc and 
hang it about 1 in. above the half can. 
Prepare a 10 per cent solution of caus¬ 
tic soda and fill the jar within 1 
in. of the top. Place on top the so¬ 
lution a thin layer of kerosene or par¬ 
affin. The cell will only cost about 50 
cents to make and 25 cents for each 
renewal. When renewing, always re¬ 
move the oil with a siphon.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Robert Canfield, University 
Park, Colo. 


A Home-Made Barometer 


Take £ oz. of pulverized campnor, 
62 gr. of pulverized nitrate of potas¬ 
sium, 31 gr. nitrate of ammonia and 
dissolve in 2 oz. alcohol. Put the solu¬ 
tion in a long, slender bottle, closed at 
the top with a piece of bladder con¬ 
taining a pinhole to admit air, says 
Metal Worker. When rain is coming 
the solid particles will tend gradually 
to mount, little crystals forming in the 
liquid, which otherwise remains clear; 
if high winds are approaching the 
liquid will become as if fermenting, 
while a film of solid particles forms on 
the surface; during fair weather the 
liquid will remain clear and the solid 
particles will rest at the bottom. 


A door lock may be lubricated by 
using some lead scraped from the lead 
in a pencil and put in the lock. This 
may be done by putting the scrapings 
on a piece of paper and blowing them 
into the lock through the keyhole. 

-»- ♦ ♦- 

Where bolts are subject to rust, the 
threads should be painted with pure 
white lead; then they will not rust 
fast. t a 

When painting yellow pine exposed 
to the weather add a little pine tar 
with the priming coat. 

































152 


Revolving a Wheel with Boat Sails 

A novel windmill or revolving 
wheel can be made by placing a light 
wheel so it will turn freely on the end 


from these ends and they are run 
through a piece of cork. Attach to 
the wires, on the under side of the 
cork, a piece of zinc to one end and 
a piece of copper to the other. The 



of a post, and placing four small sail¬ 
ing boats at equal points on the rim of 
the wheel. It makes no difference 
which way the wind blows, the wheel 
will revolve in one direction. In Fig. 
1 the direction of the wind is shown 
by the arrows, and how the sails catch 
the wind and cause the wheel to re¬ 
volve. Figure 2 shows how the wheel 
will appear when complete. This 
device makes an attractive advertising 
sign. 


A Floating Electromagnet 

A piece of iron placed in a coil of 
wire carrying a current of electricity 
becomes an electromagnet. If such a 
coil and iron 
core be made 
small enough 
they can be at¬ 
tached to a cork 
and the cork, 
floating on a solu¬ 
tion, will allow the 
magnet to point 
north and south. The sketch shows 
how to make such an instrument. A 
coil of insulated wire is wrapped 
around a small iron core, leaving a few 
inches of each end free for connec¬ 
tions. The insulation is removed 


cork is then floated on a solution of 
acid, with the zinc and copper hanging 
in the solution. If zinc and copper are 
used, the solution is made from water 
and blue vitriol. If zinc and carbon 
are used, the solution is made from 
sal ammoniac and water. 

The float will move about on the 
solution until the magnet iron will 
point north and south. If two of them 
are floating on the same solution, they 
will move about and finally arrange 
themselves end to end with the coils 
and magnet cores pointing north and 
south.—Contributed by C. Lloyd Enos. 


A Fish Bait 

A very effective fish bait is made by 
inclosing a live minnow in a short sec¬ 
tion of glass tube, which is filled with 
water and both ends closed with corks. 
This is used in place of the spoon. 


Homemade Air Thermometer 

The illustration shows the complete 
thermometer. The water in the glass 
tube is caused to rise and fall by the 
expansion and contraction of the air 
in the tin box. 

A paper-fastener box, about l 1 /^ in. 





















































153 


deep and 2 in. in 
diameter will 
serve very well 
for the box A. 
Solder in the 
side of the box a 
1-in. piece of 
i-in. brass tub¬ 
ing, B, and then 
solder on the 
cover, C, so that 
the only escape 
for the air is 
through the 
brass tube. Se¬ 
cure a piece of 
^-in. glass tubing 
— not shorter 
than 18 in.—and bend it as shown at 
D in the sketch. Hold the part of 
the tube to be bent in the broad side 
of a gas jet, and in a minute or two 
the tube will bend with its own weight. 
Any angle can be given glass tubing 
in this way. Connect the glass tube to 
B with a short piece of rubber hose, E. 
If the hose is not a tight fit, bind with 
a short piece of fine copper wire. The 
standard, F, is made from a piece of 
Ho. 10 wire about 10 in. long. To 
this standard solder the supporting 
wire, G—Ho. 14 wire will do. On one 
side bend the wire around the tube B, 
and on the other around the glass 
tube, D, 

The base, H, can be made of oak, 
stained and varnished. The bottom of 
the box, A, is covered with lampblack 
so as to readily absorb all heat that 
strikes the surface. The black should 
not be put on until just before you 
paint the supports, cover and rim of 
the box with gold or silver paint. Hold 
the bottom of the box to be blackened 
over a little burning cotton saturated 
with turpentine. 

The scale on the glass can be etched 
with hydrofluoric acid, or made with a 
little black paint. The water can be 
put in with a medicine dropper. This 
instrument will measure the amount of 
heat given by a candle some 20 or 30 ft. 
away. — Contributed by J. Thos. 
Ehamstine. 


Home-Made Battery Voltmeter 


Secure a piece of brass tube 3 in. long 
that has about ^-in. hole. Put ends, A, 
I 4 in. square and cut from heavy card¬ 
board on this tube. Make a hole in 
the center of each cardboard just large 
enough to allow the brass tube to fit 
tight. Put on two or three layers of 
stout paper around the brass tube and 
between the cardboard ends. Wind 
evenly about 2 oz. of Ho. 26 cotton- 
covered magnet wire on the paper be¬ 
tween the ends and leave about 2 in. of 
wire on each end extending from the 
coil. Use a board \ in. thick, 3 in. wide 
and 6 in. long for the base and fasten 
the coil to it, as shown in Fig. 1. Bore 
holes for binding-posts, B, one on each 
side of the board, and connect the two 
wires from the coil to them. At the 
other end of the board and in the cen¬ 
ter drive a wire nail and attach a small 
spring, C, to it. The spring should be 
about 1 in. long. Take a small piece 
of soft iron, D, \ in. long and just large 
enough to slip freely through the brass 



tube and solder a piece of copper wire 
to it; the other end of the copper wire 
being hooked to the spring, C. The 
copper wire must be just long enough 
to allow the piece of iron, D, to hang 
part way in the end of the coil and still 




























































































154 


hold the spring in place. A circular 
piece of cardboard, E, is slipped over 
the spring to where the spring joins 
the wire. This cardboard is to serve as 
the pointer. A piece of paper 1J in. 
wide and 2J in. long is glued to the 
board so that it will be directly under 
the cardboard pointer and fit snugly up 
against the top of the coil. 

The paper can be calibrated by con¬ 
necting one cell of battery to the bind¬ 
ing-posts. The iron plunger, D, is 
drawn into the tube and consequently 
the pointer, E, is drawn nearer to the 
coil. Make a mark directly under the 
place where the pointer comes to rest. 
At the place mark the number of volts 
the cell reads when connected with a 
voltmeter. Do the same with two or 
three cells and mark down the result 
on the scale. By dividing off the space 
between these marks you may be able 
to obtain a surprisingly correct reading 
when connected with the battery cells 
to be tested.—Contributed by Edward 
M. Teasdale, Cuba, N. Y, 


How to Make a Folding Canvas Cot 


All the material required to make 
the cot as shown in Eig. 1 consists of 
wood 1-J in. square of which two pieces 
are 6 ft. long; two pieces 
2 ft. 3 in. long; two 
pieces 2\ ft. long; four 
pieces ft. long; four 
hinges; some sheet metal 
and 2\ yd. of 8-oz. 
canvas. 

Make a rectangle of 
the two long pieces and 
the two 2-ft. 3-in. pieces 
of wood as shown in 
Fig. 2, nailing well the 
corners together and re¬ 
inforcing with a strip of 
sheet metal as shown in 
Eig. 3. The four pieces 1J ft. long are 
used for the legs, and two of them are 
nailed to one of the pieces 2\ ft. long, 
making a support as shown in Fig. 5. 

Make two of these—one for each end. 


The hinges are attached as shown in 
Eig. 5 and the whole support is 
fastened just under the end pieces of 
the frame by hinges. Four pieces of 
sheet metal are cut as shown in Fig. 4 
and fastened to the body of the frame 
with their lower ends hooking over pins 
driven in each leg at the proper place. 
The canvas is stretched as tight as pos¬ 
sible over the two long side pieces and 
fastened on the outside edge of each 
piece with large headed tacks. The 
legs will fold up as shown by the dotted 
line and the cot can be stored in a small 
space.—Contributed by B. J. Smith, 
Milwaukee, Wis. 

-»-♦ ♦- 

How to Make a Small Geissler 
Tube 


At first this would seem to be a 
difficult piece of work, yet a good and 
beautiful Geissler tube can be made at 
home in the following manner: 

Procure a glass tube about 3J ft. long 
having a hole through its center about 
-J or \ in. in diameter, about 1 in. of 
No. 30 platinum wire and enough mer¬ 
cury to fill the tube and a small bowl. 
About 1J lb. of mercury will be suf¬ 
ficient. The first thing to do is to seal 
\ in, of platinum wire in one end of the 
tube. This is done by holding the end 


of the tube with the right hand and 
taking hold of the tube with the left 
hand about 4 in. from the right hand. 
Hold the tube in a flame of a bunsen 
burner in such manner that the flame 


























155 


will strike the tube midway between 
the hands, as shown in Fig. 1, and keep 
turning the tube so as to get an even 
heat. When the glass becomes soft, re¬ 



move the tube from the flame and 
quickly draw it out into a fine thread. 
Break this thread off about ^ in. from 
the long part of the tube and the end 
will appear as shown in Fig. 2. Take 
j in. of the platinum wire and slip it 
through the fine hole made by breaking 
the glass thread so that one-half of the 
wire will be inside of the long tube. 
If the end of the tube is now placed 
in the flame of the burner, the glass will 
adhere to the platinum wire and the 
wire will thus be sealed in the tube. 
The finished end will appear as shown 
in Fig. 3. This tube as described will 
be 8 in. long, although nearly any size 
could be made in the same way. 

Measure 8 in. from the sealed end 
and place the tube at that point in the 
flame, holding in the left hand. At the 
same time take the piece of glass that 
was broken off at the end in the first 
operation and hold it in the flame with 
the right hand. When both the tube 
and piece of glass are soft, touch the 
soft part of the tube with the end of 
the glass and draw the tube out into a 
point like that shown in Fig. 4. Break 
off the piece of glass, thus leaving a 
small aperture in the long tube. Seal 
the remaining \ in. of platinum in this 
aperture in the same manner as before, 
being careful not to heat the tube too 
suddenly. The tube is now ready for 
filling and the upper part will appear 
as shown in Fig. 5. 


The air is expelled from the tube by 
filling with mercury. This may be done 
by making a paper funnel and pouring 
the mercury slowly into the tube 
through the funnel. When the tube is 
filled to within J in. of the funnel re¬ 
move the funnel and tap the side of the 
tube gently in order to remove any 
small air bubbles that may be clinging 
to the. sides of the tube. The air bub¬ 
bles will rise and come to the top. The 
tube now must be filled completely, ex¬ 
pelling all the air. Place a finger over 
the end of the tube to keep the mer¬ 
cury in and invert the tube and set the 
end in the bowl of mercury. The mer¬ 
cury in the tube will sink until the level 
will be at about 30 in., leaving 8 in. 
of vacuum at the top. The next opera¬ 
tion is to seal the tube at the half-way 
point between the lower platinum wire 
and the mercury level. 

As the lower end of the tube must be 
kept at all times in the bowl of mer¬ 
cury until the tube is sealed, an assistant 
will be necessary for this last opera¬ 
tion. Have the assistant hold the tube 
in the mercury at a slight angle, using 
care to always keep the lower end in 
the mercury, while you hold the burner 
in the left hand and allow the flame to 
strike the tube at the stated point. The 
part of the tube above this point will 
gradually bend over of its own weight 
as the glass softens. When it reaches 
the angle of about 60 deg., Fig. 6, take 
hold of the tube with the right hand, 
still keeping the flame on the tube, and 
gradually draw the softened portion out 
until it separates from the main tube. 

The tube is now finished and when 
the platinum wires are attached to the 
terminals of a spark coil a beautiful 
blue light will appear in the tube with 
a dark space at the negative end or 
cathode.—Contributed by David A. 
Keys, Toronto, Can. 


Huts that are rusted fast can often 
be loosened by giving a hard turn in 
the tightening direction. 

-» - » ♦- 

Greasy stoves may be cleaned with 
a strong solution of lye or soda. 



















156 




How to Make a Take=Down Back¬ 
ground Frame 


Many amateur photographers who de¬ 
sire to do portrait work at home have 
left the subject alone for the want of 
a suitable background. A frame such 
as is used by the professional is entirely 
out of the question in 
most homes, says a cor¬ 
respondent of Camera 
Craft. The frame as 
shown in the sketch was 
devised and its chief ad¬ 
vantage lies in the fact 
that when not in use it 
can be compactly tied 
together and stored 
away in a closet. 

Almost any wood may 
be used in constructing 
this frame, but yellow 
pine is the best, as it is 
easily obtained and at the same time 
very well suited for such work. All 
pieces are to be dressed on all sides. 

Two upright pieces are cut from f- 
in. material 2 in. wide and 5 ft. 9 in. 
long and two blocks are fastened on 
the ends of each that are to be used 
for the bottom, as shown in Fig. 1. 
These blocks are each 2 by 6 in. and 
J in. thick. The base is made from a 
piece f in. thick, 3 in. wide and 5 ft. 
4 in. long. A crosspiece J in. thick, 
3 in. wide and 12 in. long, cut in the 
shape shown in Fig. 2, is screwed 
on each end of the base with 3-in. wood 
screws, as shown in Fig. 3. Four 
blocks £ in. thick, 1 in. wide and 3 in. 
long are nailed to the sides of the base 
piece parallel with and at a distance of 

2 in. from the end of same. This forms 
a slot, Fig. 4, to receive the pieces nailed 
to the ends of the uprights. To secure 
a rigid frame it is essential that this 
joint be accurately put together. 

Procure a piece of thick tin or brass 
and make two pieces like the pattern 
shown in Fig. 5, with each projection 

3 in. long. The width of the cross¬ 
piece is 1 in. and the single projection 
f in. These are bent and nailed, one 
on each end of a piece of wood that is 


\ in. thick, 1 in. wide and 5 ft. long, 
as in Fig. 6. These will form two 
pockets that will fit over the tops of 
the uprights. The frame is put to¬ 
gether as shown in Fig. 7. Any back¬ 
ground that will hang straight without 
need of being stretched can be hung 
on this frame. 


Details of Background Frame 

Home=Made Kite Reel 


This kite reel is constructed from 
two old pulleys and a few pipe fittings. 
The large pulley is about 14 in. in 
diameter, on the face of which are 
riveted flat strips of iron with extend¬ 
ing arms. These arms are reinforced by 
riveting smaller pieces from one to the 


Old Pulleys and Pipe Fittings 























157 


other, which connects all arms together 
on both sides of the wheel. Mounted 
on the shaft with the pulleys is a guide 
for the kite wire or string. The photo¬ 
graph shows that this guide permits of 
being moved entirely over the top of 
the reel. The smaller pulley is attached 
to the shaft and used as a brake. The 
brake is used only when running out 
the wire or string, first removing the 
crank. 


Attaching Runners to a Bicycle 
for Winter Use 


Instead of storing away your bicycle 



Bicycle Fitted with Runners for Snow 


for the winter, attach runners and use 
it on the ice. The runners can be made 
from ^-in. by 1-in. iron and fastened 
to the bicycle frame as shown in the 
sketch. The tire is removed from the 
rim of the rear wheel and large screws 
turned into the rim, leaving the greater 
part of the screw extending. Cut off 
the heads of the screws and file them 
to a point. The rear runners should 
be set so the rim of the wheel will be 
about \ in. above the runner level.— 
Contributed by C. R. Welsh, Manhat¬ 
tan, Kan. 


A Paper That Makes Green Prints 

A coating for ordinary paper that is 
said to give green prints is made with 
a two per cent solution of gelatine, says 
Photography, and sensitized with the 
following solution: 


Potassium Bichromate. 15 gr. 

Magnesium Sulphate.25 gr. 

Water . 1 oz. 


This mixture is spread over the 
paper in the usual way and the paper 
dried in the dark. Printing is carried 
rather far. The print is washed, then 
surface dried or blotted off on a pad 
and laid film upwards on a sheet of 
glass, and the following developer is 
applied with a wad of cotton wool 
wrung out: 

Pyrocatechin. . 5 gr. 

Water . l oz. 

The picture assumes a rich green 
color when developed, and is then 
washed for five or ten minutes and 
dried quickly by heat. 


Copies Made from Wax Molds by 
Electro=Deposition 

Fine copies of wax impressions can 
be made in the following manner: Pro¬ 
cure an ordinary tumbler and fill it 
with a strong solution of sulphate of 
copper, which is made by dissolving 
two cents’ worth 
of blue vitriol in 
\ pt. of water. 

After this i s 
done make a 
porous cell by 
rolling a piece of 
brown paper 
around a stick and fastening the edge 
with sealing wax; also, fix a bottom to 
the cell in the same way. Make a 
solution of one part of oil of vitriol 
and 5 parts of water and pour this 
mixture into the porous cell. Wind 
the end of a copper wire around the 
end of a piece of zinc and place the 
zinc in the porous cell. Attach the 
other end of the wire to the wax im¬ 
pression. 

The wax impression is made by 
pouring melted beeswax on the article 
you wish to reproduce and removing 
after the wax gets cold. The wax mold 
then should be coated with black lead 
and polished. This is done with a 
camel’s hair brush. A fine copy can 
be made on the wax impression after 
the battery has been running about 12 
hr.—Contributed by Edward M. Teas* 
dale. 


























158 


How to Make Skating Shoes 


Remove the clamp part, as shown in 
Fig. 1, from an ordinary clamp skate. 
Drill holes in the top part of the skate 



for screws. Purchase a pair of high 
shoes with heavy soles and fasten the 
skates to the soles with screws, as 
shown in Fig. 2. When completed the 
skating shoes will have the appearance 
shown on Fig. 3. These will make as 
good skating shoes as can be pur¬ 
chased, and very much cheaper.—Con¬ 
tributed by Wallace C. Newton, Leo¬ 
minster, Mass. 


around the edge of the hole. This pre¬ 
vents the animal from gnawing its way 
out, also provides a way to make the 
hole of different sizes for squirrels or 
other animals. The hole in the door 
should be about 2 in. wide and 4 in. 
high for rabbits. The door is made to 
swing freely on two large nails driven 
through the sides of the box. The hole 
in the door being only large enough to 
admit a small portion of the rabbit’s 
head, the rabbit will push its way 
through to the bait, causing the door 
to swing back and up, and it will close 
by its own weight when the animal is 
inside. A small door is provided in 
the other end to remove the animals 
caught. 

The advantage of this trap is that 
where one animal is caught others are 
liable to follow, and several rabbits 
will be trapped at a time. Then, too, 
the rabbits are not harmed in any 
way as they would be if caught in an 
ordinary trap.—Contributed by H. F. 
Church, Alexandria, Va. 


How to Make an Atomizer 


How to Make a Self-Setting 
Rabbit Trap 

Secure a good-sized box, say, 1 ft. 
high, iy 2 ft. wide, and 3 ft. long; and 
to the bottom, about 10 in. from one 
end, fasten a 2-in. square piece, A, Fig. 
1, extending the width of the box. 
Place a 10-in. board sloping from the 
end of the box to the cleat A. The 
swing door B, Fig. 1, is made as shown 



Fig. 1 


Self-Setting Trap 

in Fig. 2, which represents the back 
side of the door. Sheet metal or tin 
is cut to the proper size and tacked 


Secure a good-sized test tube and 
fit it with a cork. Take two glass 
tubes, with about %-in. hole, and bend 
them as shown 
in the sketch. 

This | is done by 
heating them at 
the proper point 
over a gas flame 
until they are 
soft. Two holes 
are bored through 
the cork and the 
bent tubes insert¬ 
ed in them, as 
shown in the 
sketch, so that 
one of the tubes 
will extend near¬ 
ly to the bottom 
of the test tube and the other just pro¬ 
jecting through the cork. The spray 
tube may be made with a fine hole by 
first securing a tube longer than neces¬ 
sary and heating it at the proper point 



































159 


and drawing the tube ont into a fine 
thread. The thread is broken off at 
the proper place to make a small hole. 


Home=Made Kits for the Camera 


If you have a 5- by 7-in. camera and 
wish to use some 4- by 5-in. plates, 
make a few simple kits to hold the 
smaller plates and fit the larger hold¬ 
ers, says Camera Craft. Take two 
pieces of pasteboard, A 
and B, black surfaced if 
possible, and exactly 5 by 
7 in. in size. The piece 
A will form the back of 
the kit and should have 
an opening cut in the 
center 4 by 5 in. in size. 

Paste a piece of strong 
black paper, C, over the 
under side of it to keep 
the plate from falling through. Cut 
an opening in the other piece, B, but 
cut it J in. shorter. This opening, be¬ 
ing -J in. shorter at each end, will re¬ 
tain the plate in position and cut off 
only that small amount of plate sur¬ 
face when the plate is exposed in the 


camera. Cut a piece of thin black 
cloth, D, 1 in. wide and 5 in. long. 
Lay it down on a piece of newspaper 
and coat one side with gum or muci¬ 
lage. Stand the two pieces of 5- by 7- 
in. black cards on end together so that 
they will be square and true and bind 
the other ends with the strip of cloth 
so as to form a hinge. The two cards 
form a thickness about equal to a thick 
glass plate, and go in the holder in 



the same way. Lay one of these kits 
down against the ground side of the 
focusing screen and draw a line around, 
inside of the opening. This will be a 
guide as to just what will be secured 
upon the smaller plate when the kits 
are used. 


How to Make a Miniature Stage 


A good smooth box, say 8 in. wide, 
10 in. high and 12 in. long, will serve 
the purpose for the main part of this 
small theater. Cut two rectangular 
holes, Fig. 1, one in each end and ex¬ 
actly opposite each other. Place a screw 
eye about \ in. from the edge on each 


side of these openings. Fit an axle 
in the screw eyes and fasten a spool to 
the middle of the axle. On one of the 
two spools attach another smaller spool, 
Fig. 2, to be used as a driving pulley. 
Cut out the front part of the box down 
to a level with the top of the spools. 





















































































































































160 


Connect the spools with a belt made 
from tape about f in. wide. On this 
belt fasten figures cut from heavy pa¬ 
per and made in the form of people, 
automobiles, trolley cars, horses and 
dogs. A painted scenery can be made 
in behind the movable tape. The front 
part of the box may be draped with cur¬ 
tains, making the appearance of the 
ordinary stage, as shown in Fig. 3. A 
small motor will run the spools and 
drive the tape on which the figures are 
attached.—Contributed by William M. 
Crilly, Jr., Chicago. 


A Floating Compass Needle 


When a thoroughly dry and clean 
sewing needle is carefully placed on 
the surface of water the needle will 
float even if the density of steel is 7 or 
8 times that of water. A sewing needle 
thus floating upon water may be used 
as a compass, if it has previously been 
magnetized. The needle will then point 
north and south, and will maintain this 
position if the containing vessel is 
moved about; if the needle is displaced 
by force it will return to its position 
along the magnetic meridian as soon as 
the restraint is removed. 


tiome=Made Dog Cart 


The accompanying photograph shows 
a boy with his “dogmobile.” The photo¬ 
graph was taken when they were on a 
new pavement which had 2 in. of sand 



left by the pavers and a grade of 6 per 
cent. The machine is nothing more 
than a boy’s rubber-tired wagon on 
which are mounted a box for a seat 
and a wheel steering device extending 
above and below the board of the 
wagon. The front wheels are guided 
by ropes attached from each end of the 
axle and a few turns around the lower 
end of the steering rod. A pair of 
shafts are attached to the rear, into 
which the dog is harnessed. 

•-» • ♦- 

How to Make a Dry Battery Cell 


Dry battery cells are composed of 
the same materials for the poles, but 
instead of the liquid commonly used a 
paste is formed by 
mixing sal ammoniac 
and other salts with 
water and packed in 
the cell so it cannot 
spill. 

A cell of this kind 
can easily be made, 
and to make it the 
proper size a sheet of 
zinc 8J in. long and 
6 in. wide will be re¬ 
quired. This zinc is 
rolled into a cylinder 
in. in diameter. 

This will allow for a 
lap of f in., which is 
tightly soldered only on the outside of 
the seam. Close one end of the cylin¬ 
der by soldering a disk of zinc over 
it, making a watertight receptacle. All 
soldering should be done on the out¬ 
side and none of the* solder allowed 
to run on the inside of the seam. All 
seams on the inside should be painted 
with asphaltum in order to cover any 
particles of solder. Do not paint any 
surface, only the joints. Secure three 
carbon rods -J in. in diameter and 6 in. 
long which are copper plated. Carbons 
used in arc lamps will do. File the 
rods to remove the copper plate, leav¬ 
ing about \ in. of the plate at one end. 
Tie the three rods in a close bundle 
with the copper-plated ends together 



Dog-Power Cart 

































161 


and make a contact with each rod by 
soldering a wire to the plated ends, al¬ 
lowing one end of the wire to project 
about 2 in. for a connection. The 
plated ends of the carbons should be 
covered with paraffin for about 1 in. 
This is done by immersing them in a 
dish of smoking hot melted paraffin 
until the pores are thoroughly satu¬ 
rated. 

The salts for filling are £ lb. zinc 
oxide, £ lb. sal ammoniac, £ lb. plaster 
of paris, £ lb. chloride of zinc mixed 
into a paste by adding £ pt. of water. 
Form a £-in. layer of paste in the bot¬ 
tom of the cylinder and place the ends 
of the carbon rods on this with their 
plated ends up. Hold the rods in the 
center of the cylinder and put the 
paste in around the rods with a stick. 
Pack the paste in, closely filling the 
cylinder to within £ in. of the top. 
This space at the top is filled with a 
mixture of £ lb. of rosin and 2 oz. 
beeswax melted together. This wax 
seals the cell and prevents any evapora¬ 
tion. Connection is made to the zinc 
by soldering a wire to the outside of the 
cylinder. 

-» • ♦ - 

How to Paraffin Wire 


The following description of how to 
make an apparatus with which to 
paraffin wire as needed makes clear a 
method of construction that is simple 
and easy to put together in a short 
time. 


Secure a pan to be used for this pur¬ 
pose only; one that will hold about 1 
qt. The details of the construction are 
given in the diagram, in which P is the 
pan; B is a base of 1-in. pine; S is the 
spool of wire supported near one end 
of the base by nailing on standards H 
and H; F is a spool, with narrow 
flanges, supported near the bottom of 
the pan by the standards T and T. 
These may be made of two short pieces 
of a roller fitted into the holes bored 
in the base; A is a block of 1-in. pine 
with a piece of leather tacked on one 
side. Four nails should be driven in 
the base just outside of the edge of the 
pan to keep it from sliding off the pan. 

Bore a hole in the base between the 
two spools and pass the wire through 
this hole, under the spool in the 
paraffin, then through a small hole in 
the leather and a notch in the block A, 
and a notch between the base and the 
pan. Tie a string around the wire be¬ 
tween the leather and the paraffin, 
making the knots so they will not pull 
through the hole in the leather. This 
makes the wire smooth, and by making 
the string tighter or looser you can 
regulate the thickness of the paraffin, 
says Electrician and Mechanic. Place 
the pan on the stove; when the paraffin 
is melted, pull out the wire as needed. 
To keep the pan from sliding place a 
flatiron or some other weight on it. 
-» • ♦- 

Peat is used in Germany for bedding, 
fodder, filter, fuel and packing pur¬ 
poses. 



Home-Made Apparatus for Paraffining Wire 


























































Scientific Explanation of a Toy 


In a recent issue of Popular Mechanics an article 
on “The Turning Card Puzzle” was described and 
illustrated. Outside of the scientific side involved, 
herein I describe a much better trick. About the 
time w T hen the expression “skidoo” first began to 
be used I invented the following trick and called it 
“Skidoo” and “Skidee,” which created much merri¬ 
ment. Unless the trick is thoroughly understood, 
for some it will turn one way, for others the oppo¬ 
site way, while for others it will not revolve at all. 
One person whom I now recall became red in the 
face by shouting skidoo and skidee at it, but the 
thing would not move at all, and he finally, from 
vexation, threw the trick into the fire and a new 
one had to be made. Very few can make it turn 
both ways at will, and therein is the trick. 

Take a piece of hardwood % in. square and about 
9 in. long. On one of the edges cut a series of 
notches as indicated in Fig 1. Then slightly taper 
the end marked B until it is nicely rounded as 
shown in Fig. 2. Next make an arm of a two-arm 
windmill such as boys make. Make a hole through 
the center of this one arm. Enlarge the hole 
slightly, enough to allow a common pin to hold the 
arm to the end B and not interfere with the revolv¬ 
ing arm. Two or three of these arms may have 
to be made before one is secured that is of the 
exact proportions to catch, the vibrations right. 



To operate the trick, grip the stick firmly in one 
hand, and with the forward and backward motion 
of the other allow the first finger to slide along 
the top edge, the second finger along the side, 
and the thumb nail will then vibrate along the 
notches, thus making the arm revolve in one 
direction. To make the arm revolve in the 
opposite direction—keep the hand moving all the 
time, so the observer will not detect the change 
which the hand makes—allow the first finger to 
slide along the top, as in the other movement, the 
thumb and second finger changing places: e. g., 
in the first movement you scratch the notches with 
the thumb nail while the hand is going from the 
body, and in the second movement you scratch the 
notches with the nail of the second finger when 
the hand is'coming toward the body, thus produc¬ 
ing two different vibrations. In order to make it 
work perfectly (?) you must of course say “skidoo” 
when you begin the first movement, and then, 
no matter how fast the little arm is revolving 
when changed to the second movement, you must 
say “skidee” and the arm will immediately stop 
and begin revolving in the opposite direction. By 
using the magic words the little arm will obey your 
commands instantly and your audience will be 
mystified. If any of your audience presume to dis¬ 
pute, or think they can do the same, let them try 
it. You will no doubt be accused of blowing or 
drawing in your breath, and many other things 
in order to make the arm operate. At least it is 
amusing. Try it and see.—Contributed by Charles 
Clement Bradley, Toledo, Ohio. 

The foregoing article describing the 
“Skidoo-Skidee Trick” appeared in a 
recent issue of Popular Mechanics. I 
have been told that a similar arrange¬ 
ment is used by a tribe of Indians in 
the state of Washington, by the Hin¬ 


doos in India, and one friend tells me 
that they were sold on the streets of our 
large cities many years ago. 

This toy interested me so much that 
I have made an investigation into the 
causes of its action, and I think the re¬ 
sults may be of interest. 

To operate, one end of the notched 
stick is held firmly in the left hand, 
while with the right hand a nail or 
match stick is rubbed along the notched 
edge, at the same time pressing with the 
thumb or finger of the moving hand 
against the oblique face of the stick. 
The direction of rotation depends upon 
which face is pressed. A square stick 
with notches on edge is best, but the 
section may be circular or even irregular 
in shape. 

The experiments were as follows: 

1. A rectangular stick had notches 
cut on one face. When the pressure 
was applied upon a face normal to the 
first, no rotation resulted. If the pres¬ 
sure was upon an edge, rotation was ob¬ 
tained. 

2. Irregular spacing of the notches 
did not interfere with the action. The 
depth of the notches was also unimpor¬ 
tant, although it should be suited to the 
size of the nail for best results. 

3. The hole in the revolving piece 
must be larger than the pin; if there is 
a close fit no rotation is obtained. 

4. The center of gravity of the re¬ 
volving piece must lie within the hole. 
If the hole is not well centered the trick 
cannot be performed. 

5. If the stick be clamped in a vise 
no results are obtained; with this excep¬ 
tion: if the stick has enough spring, 
and the end clamped is far enough away 
from the notched portion, the rotation 
may be obtained. 

The above experiments led me to the 
conclusion that the operation of the de¬ 
vice is dependent upon a circular mo¬ 
tion of the pin, and this was confirmed 
by the following experiments. The ac¬ 
tion is somewhat similar to swinging 
the toy known as a locust around with 
a slight circular motion of the hand. It 
is necessary to show here that a slight 












163 


circular motion is sufficient to produce 
the result and, secondly, that such mo¬ 
tion can be produced by the given move¬ 
ments of the hands. 

6. A piece of brass rod was clamped 
in the chuck of a lathe, and a depres¬ 
sion made in the end slightly eccentric, 
by means of a center punch. If the end 
of the pin is inserted in this depression, 



The Lathe Experiment 


while the hand holding the other end 
of the stick is kept as nearly as possible 
in the axis of the lathe, rotation of the 
lathe will produce rotation of the re¬ 
volving piece. Speeds between 700 and 
1,100 r. p. m. gave the best results. 

7. A tiny mirror was attached to the 
end of the pin, and the hand held in 
the sunlight so that a spot of sunlight 
was reflected upon the wall. The 
notches were then rubbed in the usual 
way. The spot of light upon the wall 
moved in a way which disclosed two 
components of motion, one circular and 
one due to the irregular movements of 
the hand holding the stick. Usually the 
orbit was too irregular to show a con¬ 
tinuous and closed circular path, but at 
times the circular motion became very 
pronounced. It was observed and the 
direction of rotation correctly stated by 
a man who was unaware of the source 
of the motion. 

The production of the circular mo¬ 
tion can be explained in this way: 
When the rubbing nail comes to a notch 
the release of pressure sends the stick 
upward; this upward motion against 
the oblique pressure upon the (say) 
right hand side gives also a lateral com¬ 
ponent of motion towards the left. As 
the nail strikes the opposite side of the 
notch the stick, is knocked down again, 
this motion relieves somewhat the 
oblique pressure from the right hand 
side, and the reaction from the holding 


(left) hand moves the stick to the right 
slightly, so that it is back in the old 
position for the next upward motion. 
Thus a circular or elliptic motion is re¬ 
peated for each notch, and the direction 
of this motion is the same whether the 
nail be rubbed forward or back. For 
oblique side pressure from the right 
(notches assumed upward), the motion 
of the stick and hence of the revolving 
piece will be counter-clockwise; if the 
pressure is from the left, it will be 
clockwise. 

That the motion of the revolving 
piece is due to a swinging action, and 
not to friction of the pin in the hole, 
is proved by experiments 3 and 4.—- 
Contributed by M. G. Lloyd, Ph.D., 
Washington, D. C. 


Home=Made Lantern 


The accompanying picture shows a 
lantern which can be made almost any¬ 
where for immediate use. All that is 
needed is an empty tomato or coffee can, 
a piece of wire and a candle. Make a 
hole a little smaller than the diametei 
of a candle and about one-third of th^ 
way from the closed end of the can, as 
shown. A wire is tied around the can, 
forming a handle for carrying. This 
kind of lantern can be carried against 
almost any wind and the light will not 
be blown out.—Contributed by G. A. 
Sloan, Duluth, Minn. 



Tin Can Lantern 









164 


A Study of Splashes 

When a rough, or greasy, or dusty 
sphere falls into a liquid, the liquid is 


forced away from the sphere. If the 
sphere is quite smooth the liquid rises 
up around and enclosing it in a sheath, 
says Knowledge and Scientific News. 

Keproduced herewith are a series of 
photographs showing successive stages 
in the entry of a rough sphere into milk 
and water, and the resultant “basket 
splash ” The diameter of this sphere 
was about 3/5 in., and the height of the 
fall about 6 in. Examination of the 
photographs shows that the liquid, in¬ 
stead of flowing over and wetting the 
surface of the sphere, is driven violently 
away, so far as can be seen from the 
photographs, the upper portion is, at 
first, unwetted by the liquid. The 
gradual thickening of the crater wall 
and the corresponding reduction in the 
number of its lobes as the subsidence 
proceeds is beautifully shown. There¬ 
after there rises from the depth of the 
crater an exquisite jet which in obedi¬ 
ence to the law of segmentation at once 
splits up in its upper portion into little 
drops, while at the same time it gathers 
volume from below and rises ultimately 
as a tall, graceful column to a height 
which may be even greater than that 
from which the sphere fell. 


How to Make a Stick Pin 


Splashes from a Sphere in Milk and Water 


A fine stick pin or button can be 
made from a new one-cent piece. Care¬ 
fully file out all the 
metal around the 
Indian head and 
slightly round the 
edges. Solder a pin 
to the back of the 
head when it is to be 
used for a stick pin. 

If a collar button 
base is soldered to 
the back of the head 
instead of the pin it 
can be used for a 
button. These can 
be gold plated by a 
jeweler and then you 
will have a neat pin 
or button, or a good emblem for the 
Order of Kedmen. 






















165 


How to Make a Miniature Electric Locomotive 


A miniature electric railway is a thing 
that attracts the attention of almost 
any person. The cost of a toy electric 
locomotive is beyond the reach of 
many boys who could just as well 
make such a toy without much expense 
and be proud to say they “built it 
themselves.” The electric locomotive 
described herewith uses for its power 
a small battery motor costing about 
$1. The first thing to do is to make 
the wheels and axles. If one has no 


oblong frame, each in its proper place. 
The motor is now bolted, bottom side 
up, to the top of the piece fastened to 
the frame lengthwise. A trolley, Fig. 
3, is made from a piece of clock spring, 
bent as shown, and a small piece of tin 
soldered to the top end for a brush 
connection. A groove is made in the 
tin to keep the trolley wire in place. 

The trolley wire is fastened to sup¬ 
ports made of wood and of the dimen¬ 
sions given in Fig. 4. The trolley 



lathe, the wheels can be turned at 
some machine shop. Four wheels are 
made from a round bar of metal, as 
shown in Fig. 1. Each wheel is % in. 
thick and 1 in. in diameter, with a T V 
in. flange and a %-in. hole drilled in 
the center. Each pair of wheels is 
fitted on a %-in. axle, about 2% in. 
long. One of the axles should be fitted 
with a grooved belt wheel, as shown. 
Make the frame from three pieces of 
heavy brass, as shown in Fig. 2. 

The first piece, or main part of the 
frame, is made from brass, % in. wide 
and 16 in. long, bent into an oblong 
shape and the ends soldered or bolted 
together. If the ends are to be 
soldered, before doing so drill four 14 - 
in. holes 1 in. from the ends and in¬ 
sert the ends of the axles. The other 
two pieces are % in. wide and of the 
dimensions shown in the sketch. These 
pieces are riveted in the middle of the 


should be well insulated from the 
frame. The parts, put together com¬ 
plete, are shown in Fig. 5. Run a belt 
from the pulley on the motor to the 
grooved wheel on the axle, as shown in 
Fig. 6, and the locomotive is ready for 
running. 

In making the connections the 
travel of the locomotive may be made 
more complicated by placing a rheo¬ 
stat and controlling switches in the 
line, so that the engine can be started 
and stopped at will from a distance 
and the speed regulated. Automatic 
switches can be attached at the ends 
of the line to break the circuit when 
the locomotive passes a certain point. 

One connection from the batteries is 
made to the trolley wire and the other 
to a rail. The connection for the 
motor runs from one binding post to 
the trolley and this connection must 
be well insulated to avoid a short-cir- 
















































166 


cuit. The other binding-post is con¬ 
nected to the frame. 

The cost of making the wheels and 
purchasing the track will not be over 
$1.50. The track can be made from 
strips of tin put in a saw cut made in 
pieces of wood used for ties. This will 
save buying a track.—Contributed by 
Maurice E. Fuller, San Antonio, Texas. 

-»■■■♦ ♦- 

Demagnetizing a Watch 


A test can be made to know if your 
watch is magnetized by placing a small 
compass on the side of the watch near¬ 
est the escapement wheel. If the com¬ 
pass pointer moves with the escapement 
wheel the watch is magnetized. A 
magnetized watch must be placed in a 



Watch Demagnetizer 


coil that has an alternating current of 
electricity flowing through it to remove 
the magnetism. A demagnetizer can 
be made as shown in the illustration. 
Two end pieces for the coil are made as 
shown in Fig. 1 from J-in. wood. These 
ends are fastened together, Fig. 2, with 
cardboard 3 in. long glued to the inside 
edges of the holes cut in them. Wind 
upon the spool thus formed about 2 lb. 
of No. 16 cotton-covered copper wire. 
As it will be necessary to place a 16-cp. 
lamp in series with the coil, both the 
coil and lamp can be mounted on a suit¬ 
able base and connected as shown in 
Fig. 3. The current, which must be 


110 -volt alternating current, is turned 
on the lamp and coil and the magnet¬ 
ized watch slowly drawn through the 
opening in the center of the coil.— 
Contributed by Arthur Liebenberg, 
Cincinnati, 0. 

-» ♦ ♦- 

How to Make a Pocket Skate 
Sharpener 

Secure a square file and break off a 
piece, Fig 1, the length of a paper clip, 
Fig. 2. Draw the temper in the ends 
of this piece of file, but do not heat the 
center. This can be done by wrapping 
a wet piece of cloth or asbestos around 
the middle and holding it in the jaws of 
a pair of tongs which will only leave 
the end uncovered and projecting from 
the tongs about \ in. Hold this pro¬ 
jecting end in a flame of a plumber’s 
torch until it is a dull red. Allow this 
to cool slowly while in the tongs. When 
cold treat the other end in the same 
way. This will draw the temper in 
only the ends which are filed, as shown 
in Fig. 1, and holes drilled in them. 
Also drill a hole in each end of the 
spring on the paper clip to match those 
drilled in the piece of file. Fasten the 
file in the clip with small bolts, as 
shown in Fig. 3. When the file gets 
filled with filings it can be removed and 
cleaned. Place the runner of the skate 
in the clip arnjl hold flat on the surface 
of the runner. If the piece of file is 
fitted to the same width as the skate 
runner the sides of the paper clip will 
hold the file level with the surface of 
the runner without any trouble. Push 
the clip back and forth until the skate 
is sharpened. 




Sharpener for Skates 
















































167 


01d=Time Magic 


Trick with a Coin in a Wine Glass 

* The accompanying sketch shows a 
trick of removing a dime from the bot¬ 
tom of an old- 
fashioned wine 
glass without 
touching the 
coin. The dime 
is first placed in 
the bottom of the 
glass and then a 
silver qu a r t e r 
dropped in on 
top. The quarter 
will not go all 
the way down. 
Blow hard into 
the glass in the 
position shown and the dime will fly 
out and strike the blower on the nose. 

Untying-a=Knot Trick 

Tie a double knot in a silk hand¬ 
kerchief, as shown in the accompany¬ 
ing sketch and tighten the last tie a 
little by slightly drawing the two upper 
ends; then continue to tighten much 
more, pulling vigorously at the first 
corner of the 
hand kerchief, 
and as this end 
belongs to the 
same corner it 
cannot be pulled 
much without 
loosening the 
twisted line of 
the knot to be¬ 
come a straight 
line. The other 
corner forms a 
slip knot on 
the end, which can be drawn out with¬ 
out disturbing the form, or apparent 
security of the knot, at the moment 
when you cover the knot with the un¬ 
used part of the handkerchief. 

When the trick is to be performed, 
tie two or three very hard knots that 
are tightly drawn and show your audi¬ 
ence that they are not easy to untie. 
The slip knot as described then must 
be made in apparently the same way 


and untied with the thumb while the 
knot is in the folds of the handkerchief. 

-♦ • ♦- 

Gear-Cutting Attachment lor Small 
Lathes 

When in need of small gears for ex¬ 
perimental or model machines the ama¬ 
teur usually purchases them, never 
thinking that he could make them on 
his own lathe. A small attachment 
can be made to fasten in the tool post 
of a lathe and the attachment made 
to take a mandrel on which to place 
the blank for cutting a gear. The 
frame is made from a J-in. square iron 
bent as shown in the sketch with the 



Gear-Cutting Attachment for Lathes 


projecting end filed to fit the tool 
post of the lathe. A pair of centers 
are fitted, one of which should have a 
screw thread and lock nut for adjust¬ 
ment in putting in and removing the 
mandrel. 

All the old clock wheels that can 
be found should be saved and used for 
index wheels. All of these wheels 
should be fitted to one end of the 
mandrel. The blank wheel is put on 
the outer end of the mandrel and a 
clock wheel having the number of teeth 
desired placed on the other end. When 
the mandrel is put in between the cen¬ 
ters a small pawl is fastened with a 
screw to the frame with' its upper end 
engaging in a tooth of the clock wheel. 
One clock wheel will index more than 
one number of teeth on a blank wheel. 
For instance: if the clock wheel has 
18 teeth it can be made to index 6, 9 or 
18 teeth to the blank by moving the 
number of teeth each time 3, 2 and 1 
respectively. 

In the "sketch, A shows the end of 






























168 


the cutter and B the side and the shape 
of the cutting tool. When the cutter 
A, which is in a mandrel placed in the 
centers of the lathe, has finished a cut 
for a tooth, the pawl is disengaged and 
the mandrel turned to another tooth in 
the clock wheel. 

In order to get the desired height it 
is sometimes necessary to block up the 
lathe head and the final depth of the 
tooth adjusted by the two screws in the 
projecting end of the frame which rests 
on the rocker in the tool post. Should 
too much spring occur when cutting 
iron gears the frame can be made rigid 
by blocking up the space between it 
and the lathe bed. 

The cutter mandrel is placed in the 
centers of the lathe, or should the lathe 
head be raised, a short mandrel with 
the cutter near the end can be placed 
in a chuck, and adjusted to run true. 
The frame holding the mandrel, gear 
blank and clock wheel is inserted in the 
tool post of the lathe and adjusted for 
depth of the cutter. The lathe is 
started and the gear blank fed on the 
cutter slowly until the tooth is cut. 
The pawl is released and the mandrel 
turned to the proper number of teeth 
and the operation repeated. In this 
manner gears 3 in. in diameter can be 
made on a 6-in. swing lathe.—Con¬ 
tributed by Samuel C. Bunker, Brook¬ 
lyn, N. Y. 

-♦- 

Wire Terminals for Battery Con~ 
nections 

Good connections on the end of wires 
for batteries can be made from cotter 
pins, Fig. 1, about 1J in. long. Each 
end of the wire is put through the eye 
of a cotter pin, twisted around itself 



and soldered. The connection and eye 
are then covered with tape as shown in 
Fig. 2. When connecting to batteries, 
spread the pin and push the parts un¬ 
der the nut with one part on each side 
of the binding-post. When the nuts 
are tightened the connection will be 
better than with the bare wire.—Con¬ 
tributed by Howard S. Bott. 

-» ♦ ♦- 

Simple Arts and Crafts Leather 
Work 

Very interesting and useful pieces 
of leather work can be done with noth¬ 
ing more for equipment than a cup- 
pointed nail set such as carpenters use, 
and a nut pick. 

The accompanying illustrations show 
some of the things that can be made. 
Beginning at the left and reading to 
the right they are:—Case for court- 
plaster, coin purse, lady’s card case, eye 
glass cleaner or pen wiper (has chamois 
skin within). Second row:—Two book 
marks, note book, blotter back, book 
mark. Third row:—Pin ball (has sad¬ 
dler’s felt between the two leather 
disks), tea cosey, gentleman’s card case 
or bill book. Fourth row:—Needle or 
pin case, tea cosey, lady’s belt bag, 
watch fob ready for fastenings. 

Procure a piece of Eussian calf 
modeling leather. (1.) Make on pa¬ 
per the design wanted. (2.) Moisten 
the back side of the leather with sponge 
or cloth with as much water as it will 
take yet not show through on the face 
side. (3.) Place the leather on some 
hard non-absorbent material, such as 
brass or marble. (4.) Place the paper 
design on the leather and, holding it in 
place with the left hand, trace the out¬ 
line of the object and the decorative 
design with the nut pick so as to make 
a Y-shaped groove in the leather. (5.) 
Take the paper off and working on the 
leather directly make the grooves 
deeper. (6.) With the cup-pointed 
nail set stamp the background pro¬ 
miscuously. This is done by making an 
effort to hold the point of the set about 
i in. above the surface, at the same 
time striking light, rapid blows on the 
top with a hammer or mallet. 

















169 



This Work Is Done with a Nail Set and Nut Pick 


With such objects as coin purses and 
card cases, a sewing machine will be 
needed to fasten the parts together. 
An ordinary machine will do. Fre¬ 
quently the parts are fastened by punch¬ 
ing holes and lacing through these with 
leather thongs or silk cord. 

In making symmetrical designs such 
as are here shown, draw center lines 


across the required space, dividing it 
into as many parts as desired. Make 
free-hand one quarter of the design, 
if four parts are to be alike, or one-half 
of the design, if but two parts. Fold 
over along these center lines. Put a 
piece of double-surfaced carbon paper 
between the parts and trace over the 
design already drawn. 














How to Make a Simple Still 


170 


metal tube should be supplied to con¬ 
nect the test tube and bottle. 


A still to distill water can be made 
from a test tube, some heavy rubber 
hose, and an ordinary bottle. Secure 



a stopper for the test tube, and bore a 
hole through the center, into which fit 
a small piece of tube. The bottle is also 
fitted with a stopper containing a piece 
of tube, and both bottle and test tube 
connected with a rubber tube. 

The test tube is partly filled with 
water and supported or held over an 
alcohol lamp. The bottle should stand 
in a basin of cold water. When the 
water in the test tube begins to boil the 
steam passes over to the bottle, where 
it condenses. The basin should be 
supplied with cold water as fast as it 
begins to get warm. The rubber tube 
will not stand the heat very long and 
if the still is to be used several times, a 


Homemade Mariner’s Compass 

Magnetize an ordinary knitting 
needle, A, and push it through a cork, 

B, and place the cork exactly in the 
middle of the needle. Thrust a pin, 

C, through the cork at right angles to 
the needle and stick two sharpened 
matches in the sides of the cork so that 
they will project downward as shown. 
The whole arrangement is balanced on 
a thimble with balls of wax stuck on 
the heads of the matches. If the needle 
is not horizontal, pull it through the 
cork to one side or the other, or change 



the wax balls. The whole device is 
placed in a glass berry dish and cov¬ 
ered with a pane of glass. 


CAdd aluminum bronze to a white or 
light paint that is to be used for letter¬ 
ing on a dark ground. 


Quartz Electrodes Used in Receiving Wireless Messages 


Wireless messages have been re¬ 
ceived at Washington, D. C., from Key 



Details of the Receiving Instrument 


West, Florida, a distance of 900 miles, 
through a receiving instrument in 
which two pieces of quartz of different 
composition were used on the elec¬ 
trodes. In making an instrument of 
this kind the quartz can be purchased 
from a dealer in minerals. One piece 
must contain copper pyrites and the 
other zincites. The electrodes are 
made cupping to hold the minerals 
and each should have a screw adjust¬ 
ment to press the pieces of quartz in 
contact with each other. Connect as 


































171 


shown in the illustration, using a high 
resistance receiver.—Contributed by- 
Edwin L. Powell, Washington, D. C. 

-» • ♦- 

How to Make a Glider 


By Carl Bates 

A gliding machine is a motorless 
aeroplane, or flying-machine, propelled 
by gravity and designed to carry a pass¬ 
enger through the air from a high point 
to a lower point some distance away. 
Flying in a glider is simply coasting 
down hill on the air, and is the most in¬ 
teresting and exciting sport imagin¬ 
able. The style of glider described in 
this article is known as the “two-sur¬ 
face” or “double-decked” aeroplane, and 
is composed of two arched cloth sur¬ 
faces placed one above the other. 

In building a glider the wood mate¬ 
rial used should be straight-grained 
spruce, free from knots. First prepare 
from spruce planks the following strips 
of wood. Four long beams § in. thick, 
1J in. wide and 20 ft. long; 12 cross¬ 
pieces f in. thick, f in. wide and 3 ft. 
long; 12 uprights in. thick, 1J in. 
wide and 4 ft long; 41 strips for the 
bent ribs in. thick, \ in. wide and 4 
ft. long; 2 arm sticks 1 in. thick, 2 in. 
wide and 3 ft. long; the rudder sticks 
f in. square and 8 ft long; several 
strips -J in. by f in. for building the 
vertical and horizontal rudders. The 
frames for the two main surfaces should 
be constructed first, by bolting the 
crosspieces to the long beams at the 
places shown by the dimensions in Fig. 
1. If 20-ft. lumber cannot be pro¬ 
cured, use 10-ft. lengths and splice 
them, as shown in Fig. 3. All bolts 
used should be -J in. in diameter and 
fitted with washers on both ends. These 
frames formed by the crosspieces should 
be braced by diagonal wires as shown. 
All wiring is done with No. 16 piano 
wire. 

The 41 ribs may be nailed to the 
main frames on the upper side by using 
fine flat-headed brads J in. long. These 
ribs are spaced 1 ft. apart and extend 
1 ft. beyond the rear edges of the main 
frames, as shown in Fig. 1. After nail¬ 


ing one end of a rib to the front long 
beam, the rib is arched by springing 
down the loose end and nailing to the 
rear beam. The ribs should have a 
curve as shown in Fig. 2, the amount 
of curvature being the same in all the 
ribs. 

The frames of the main surfaces are 
now ready to be covered with cloth. 
Cambric or bleached muslin should be 
used for the covering, which is tacked 
to the front edge, stretched tightly over 
the bent ribs and fastened securely with 
tacks to the rear ends of the ribs. The 
cloth should also be glued to the ribs 
for safety. In the center of the lower 
plane surface there should be an open¬ 
ing 2 ft. wide and 4 ft. long for the 
body of the operator. Place the two 
main surfaces 4 ft. apart and connect 
with the 12 uprights, placed in the cor¬ 
ner of each crosspiece and beam. The 
uprights are fastened by bolting to the 
crosspieces, as shown in Fig. 2. The 
whole structure is made strong and 
rigid by bracing with diagonal wires, 
both laterally and longitudinally. 

The vertical rudder is to keep the 
machine headed into the wind and is 
not movable. This rudder is made of 
cloth stretched over a light wooden 
frame, which is nailed to the rudder 
sticks connecting to the main frame. 
The horizontal rudder is also made of 
cloth stretched over a light wooden 
frame, and arranged to intersect the 
vertical rudder at its center. This rud¬ 
der is held in position and strengthened 
by diagonal wires and guy wires. The 
horizontal rudder is also immovable, 
and its function is to prevent the ma¬ 
chine from diving, and also to keep it 
steady in its flight. The rudders are 
fastened to the glider by the two rud¬ 
der sticks, and these sticks are held 
rigid by diagonal wires and also by guy 
wires leading to the sides of the main 
frames as shown in Fig. 1. The two 
arm sticks should be spaced about 13 
in. apart and bolted to the long beams 
in the center of the opening in the 
lower plane where the operator is to 
take his position. 

The glider should be examined to see 





172 



Details of the Glider 
















































































































































































































173 


that the frame is not warped or twisted. 
The surfaces must be true or the ma¬ 
chine will be hard to balance when in 
flight. To make a glide, take the glider 
to the top of a hill, get in between the 
arm sticks and lift the machine up un¬ 
til the arm sticks are under the arms as 
shown, run a few steps against the wind 
and leap from the ground. You will 
find that the machine has a surprising 
amount of lift, and if the weight of the 
body is in the right place you will go 
shooting down the hillside in free flight. 
The landing is made by pushing the 
weight of the body backwards. This 
will cause the glider to tip up in front, 
slacken speed and settle. The operator 
can then land safely and gently on his 
feet. Of course, the beginner should 
learn by taking short jumps, gradually 
increasing the distance as he gains skill 
and experience in balancing and land¬ 
ing. 

The proper position of the body is 
slightly ahead of the center of the 
planes, but this must be found by ex¬ 
perience. The machine should not be 
used in winds blowing faster than 15 
miles an hour. Glides are always made 
against the wind, and the balancing is 
done by moving the legs. The higher 
the starting point the farther one may 
fly. Great care should be exercised in 
making landings, otherwise the opera¬ 
tor might suffer a sprained ankle or 
perhaps a broken limb. The illustra¬ 
tion shows two lines of flight from a 
hilltop, the glider travels on the upper 
line caused by the body of the operator 
taking a position a little back of the 
proper place, and on the lower line he 
changes his position from front to back 
while flying, which causes the dip in 
the line. 

-»-♦ ♦- 

Boys Representing the Centaur 

This is a diversion in which two boys 
personate a Centaur, a creature of 
Greek mythology, half man and half 
horse. One of the players stands erect 
and the other behind him in a stooping 
position with his hands upon the first 
player’s hips, as shown in Fig. 1. The 



second player is covered over with a 
shawl or table cover which is pinned 
around the waist of the first player.. A 
tail made of strips of cloth or paper 
is pinned to the rear end of the cover. 
The first player should hold a bow and 
arrow and have a cloak thrown loosely 
over his shoulder as shown in Fig. 2. 
Imitation hoofs of pasteboard may be 
made and fastened over the shoes. 

-» - • ♦- 

Home=Made Ladle for Melting 
Babbitt 


Secure a large sized old bicycle bell 
and rivet a heavy wire or strap iron 
on one side for a handle. When heated 
a little, hammer out the edge on one 
side for a lip to pour from. This make3 
a good ladle for melting small amounts 


/ 


i 










174 


of babbitt or lead.—Contributed by 
L. M. Olson, Bellingham, Wash. 


How to Make a Flash Lamp 

Indoor photographs are made much 
better with the use of a flashlight than 
by depending on light from windows. 
The lighting can be made from any 
direction to suit the operator. If light¬ 
ing flash powder when not in a regular 
flash lamp the flash cannot be depended 
upon and in some instances is danger¬ 
ous. To make a simple and inexpen¬ 
sive flash lamp, first secure from your 
druggist an empty salve box about 3 in. 
in diameter. While at the drug store 
get 3 ft. of small rubber tubing; this 
will cost about 15 cents. Now visit the 
tin shop and get a small piece of scrap 
tin 3 or 4 in. square; a piece of brass 
or steel wire, about the size of stove 
pipe wire, 14 in. long. These with a 
strip of light asbestos paper and some 
small iron wire, about the size of door 
screen wire, will complete the material 
list. 

Carefully punch a hole through the 
salve box on one side near the bottom 
with a 10-penny nail. Cut a strip of 
tin 2 in. long and about f in. wide and 
roll this around an 8-penny nail so as 
to form a small tube which will just fit 
the hole made in the salve box. Next 
roll up a strip of tin -J in. wide into a 
small cup about f in. in diameter at 
one end and % in. at the other. 

Place the tube in the nail hole so 
that one end comes almost to the center 
of the box inside and the other end pro¬ 
jects about \ in. outside the box. Cut¬ 
out a little place for the tube to enter 
the cup at the small end and then 
solder the tube and cup to the bottom 
of the box as shown in the illustration. 
The tube and cup should be well sold¬ 
ered on the seams to make them air¬ 
tight. Bend a ring on one end of the 
larger piece of wire, making it 2J in. in 
diameter and form the remaining por¬ 
tion of the wire into a spiral, soldering 
the end in the bottom of the box near 
the cup. Wrap the ring at the top of 
the spiral piece of wire all the way 



around with the strip of asbestos paper, 
wrapping them together over and over 
until the entire ring is covered. Slip 
the end of the rubber tube over the tin 
tube on the side of the box and the 
flash lamp is complete. 

To make a flash with this lamp fill 
the little cup in the center with flash 
powder and moisten the asbestos ring 
with alcohol. When all is ready for 
the picture the alcohol is lighted and a 
quick blow of the breath through the 
rubber tube will force the flash powder 
upward into the flame and cause the 
flash. 

When through with the lamp place 
the cover over it, pushing the asbestos 
ring down inside the box. Wind the 
rubber tubing around the box and you 
have a neat outfit that can be carried in 
the pocket. 

-» • ♦- 

Photographing the New Moon 


To make a photograph of the moon 
is quite difficult and no good picture 
can be made without an expensive 
apparatus. At home and with your 
own hand camera you can make a good 
picture of the new moon by the use of 
a flash light on a tennis ball, the tennis 
ball taking the part of the moon. The 
ball is suspended in front of a black 
cloth screen, the camera focused by 
holding a burning match near the ball 
and the exposure made by burning a 

























175 



Tennis Ball Photographed 


small quantity of flash powder at one 
side and a little below the ball. The 
light from the flash only striking one 
side of the ball gives the effect of the 
new moon.—Photo by M. M. Hunting, 
Dayton, 0. 

-• ♦ ♦- 

01d=Time Magic — Part II 


Removing Scissors from a Cord 

A piece of strong cord is doubled and 
fastened to a pair of scissors with a slip 
knot, as shown in Fig. 1. After pass¬ 
ing the ends of the cord through the 
thumb hole of the scissors they are tied 
fast to a chair, door knob or any other 
object that may be of sufficient size to 
make the ends secure. The trick is to 
release the scissors without cutting the 
cord. 

Take hold of the loop end of the cord 
in the lower handle and drawing it first 


Fig 2 

How the Scissors Are Removed 


through the upper handle and then 
completely over the blades of the scis¬ 
sors, as shown in Fig. 2 . This is very 
simple when you know how, but puz¬ 
zling when the trick is first seen. 

Coin and Card on the First Finger 

This is a simple trick that many can 
do at the first attempt, while others will 
fail time after time. It is a good trick 
to spring upon a company casually if 
you have practiced it beforehand. A 
playing card is 
balanced on the 
tip of the fore¬ 
finger and a pen¬ 
ny placed on top 
immediately over 
the finger end, 
as shown in the sketch. With the right- 
hand forefinger and thumb strike the 
edge of the card sharply. If done 
properly the card will fly away, leaving 
the penny poised on the finger end. 


How to Make Sealing Wax Hat 
Pins 


Select a stick of sealing wax of the 
desired color for the foundation of the 
hat pin. Hold the end of the stick over 
a flame until the wax is soft enough to 
drop; then put it on the hat-pin head. 
When sufficient wax has adhered to the 
pin, hold the lump over the flame, re¬ 
volving the pin at the same time so the 
wax will not drop and the head will 
form a round ball. The head can be 
made in any shape desired while warm. 
When the desired shape has been ob¬ 
tained, cool thoroughly in cold water 
and dry carefully. 

Stripes and designs may be put on 
the foundation by applying drops of 
other brilliant colored wax, and by care¬ 
ful manipulation the wax when warm 
can be made to flow around the pin 
head and form pretty stripes and de¬ 
signs. If a certain color is to be more 
prominent, the wax to make this color 
must be applied last and the pin put 
through the flame again. Cool in water 
and dry, as before, and pass once more 
through the flame to obtain the lustre. 






















176 


OId=Time Magic—Part III 


Disappearing Coin 


While this is purely a sleight-of-hand 
trick, it will take very little practice to 
cause the coin to disappear instantly. 
Take a quarter of a dollar between the 
thumb and finger, as shown, and by a 
rapid twist of 
the fingers whirl 
the coin and at 
the same time 
close the hand, 
and the coin will 
disappear up 
your coat sleeve. 
On opening the 
hand the coin 
will not be seen. Take three quarters 
and hold one in the palm of the left 
hand, place the other two, one between 
the thumb and finger of each hand, 
then give the coin in the right hand a 
whirl, as described, closing both hands 
quickly. The coin in the right hand 
will disappear up your sleeve, and the 
left hand on being unclosed will con¬ 
tain two quarters, while the one in the 
right shall have disappeared. 

Sticking a Coin Against the Wall 

Cut a small notch in a coin—ten- 
cent piece or quarter will do—so a 
small point will project. When this is 
pressed firmly against a wood casing or 
partition the coin will stick tightly. 


A Chinese Outdoor Game 


The accompanying illustration shows 
the “grand whirl,” or the Chinese stu¬ 
dents 5 favorite game. This game is 
played by five persons, four of them 
turning around the fifth or central fig¬ 




ure with their arms locked about each 
other and the two outside. persons 
swinging in midair with their bodies 
almost horizontal. 

-» -♦ ♦- 

Home=Made Photograph of a Light- 
ning Flash 


How many times has eaoh amateur 
photographer tried to photograph the 
lightning’s flash? Some good pictures 
have been obtained by a ceaseless effort 
on the part of the operator. Here is a 
method by which 
you can make a 
picture of a 
streak of light¬ 
ning on a clear 
night in your 
own house. Paste 
twostripsof 
black paper on a 
piece of glass 
that is 10 in. 
square so as to 
leave a clear 
space through 
the center 2 in. 
or more in 
width. Smoke 
this uncovered 
space over a can¬ 
dle’s flame until 
the soot is thick 
enough to pre¬ 
vent light pass¬ 
ing through 
Take a sharp 
lead pencil and 
outline a flash of lightning upon the 
smoked surface, using a fine needle to 
make the smaller lines, and then set the 
glass up against the back of two boxes 
which are set to have a space between 
them of 4 or 5 in. 

A lighted candle is held behind the 
glass so the light will shine through for 
focusing the camera. After darkening 
the room set your camera ready for the 
exposure and burn a small quantity of 
flash light powder in the same place in 
which the candle was held. This will 
make an impression upon the plate of 
the flash drawn on the smoked glass. 













177 


How to Make a Static Machine 


Static electricity is produced by re¬ 
volving glass plates upon which a num¬ 
ber of sectors are cemented; these sec¬ 
tors, passing through neutralizing 
brushes, distribute electric charges 


divisions can be marked on the oppo¬ 
site side of the plate and a circle drawn 
as a guide to place the sectors at proper 
intervals. 

The sectors should lie flat on the 



Details of a Homemade Static Machine 


to collecting combs attached to dis¬ 
charging rods. The glass selected for 
the plates must be clear white glass, 
free from wrinkles, and of a uniform 
thickness. Two plates are necessary to 
make this machine, and the glass 
should be of sufficient size to cut a cir¬ 
cular plate 16 in. in diameter. A hole 
must be made exactly in the center of 
each plate, and this should be done 
before cutting the circle. One of the 
best ways to make the hole is to drill 
the glass with a very hard-tempered 
drill, the cutting edge of which should 
be kept moistened with 2 parts tur¬ 
pentine and 1 part sweet oil while 
drilling. The hole is to be made % in. 
in diameter. The circle is then marked 
on each plate and cut with a glass 
cutter. The plates are trued up, after 
they are mounted, by holding a piece 
of emery wheel to the edges while they 
are turning. Water should be applied 
to the edges while doing the work. 

The sectors are cut from tinfoil, l 1 /? 
in. wide at one end, % in. at the other, 
and 4 in. long. A thin coat of shellac 
varnish is applied to both sides of the 
plates, and 16 sectors put on one side 
of each plate, as shown in Fig. 1. The 


glass with all parts smoothed out so 
that they will not be torn from their 
places as the plates revolve. The shel¬ 
lac should be tacky when the pieces of 
tinfoil are put in place. 

The collectors are made, as shown in 
Fig. 2, from about ^4-in. copper wire 
with two brass balls soldered to the 
ends. The fork part is 6 in. long and 
the shank 4 in. Holes are drilled on 
the inside of the forks, and pins in¬ 
serted and soldered. These pins, or 
teeth, should be long enough to be very 
close to the sectors and yet not scratch 
them when the plates are turning. 

The frame of the machine is made 
from any kind of finished wood with 
dimensions shown in Fig. 3, the side 
pieces being 24 in. long and the stand¬ 
ards 3 in. wide. The two pieces, C C, 
Fig. 3, are made from solid, close- 
grained wood turned in the shape 
shown, with the face that rests against 
the plate 4 in. in diameter, and the 
outer end 1% in. in diameter, the 
smaller end being turned with a groove 
for a round belt. Before turning the 
pieces a hole is bored through each 
piece for the center, and this hole must 
be of such a size as to take a brass tube 










































178 . 


that has an internal diameter of f in. 
The turned pieces are glued to the glass 
plates over the center holes and on the 
same side on which the sectors are fast¬ 
ened. Several hours* time will be re¬ 
quired for the glue to set. A fiber 
washer is then put between the plates 
and a brass tube axle placed through 
the hole. The plates, turned wood 
pieces, and brass axle turn on a 
stationary axle, D. 

The drive wheels, EE, are made from 
J-in. material 7 in. in diameter, and 
are fastened on a round axle cut from 
a broom handle. This wood axle is cen¬ 
trally bored to admit a metal rod tight¬ 
ly, and extends through the standards 
with a crank attached to one end. 


KK, which are bent as shown. Tinsel 
or fine wire such as contained in flex¬ 
ible electric wire are soldered to the 
ends of these rods, and the brushes 
thus made must be adjusted so they 
will just touch the plates. The caps 
are fitted with screws for adjusting the 
brushes. These rods and brushes are 
called the neutralizers. A little experi¬ 
menting will enable one to properly 
locate the position of the neutralizers 
for best results.—Contributed by C. 
Lloyd Enos, Colorado City, Colo. 

-- 

A Concrete Swimming Pool 

Several boys from a neighborhood in 
the suburbs of a large city concluded to 



Home-Made Swimming Pool 


Two solid glass rods, GG, Fig. 4, 

1 in. in diameter and 15 in. long, are 
fitted in holes bored into the end pieces 
of the frame. Two pieces of 1-in. brass 
tubing and the discharging rods, EE, 
are soldered into two hollow brass balls 

2 or 2J in. in diameter. The shanks 
of the collectors are fitted in these brass 
balls with the ends extending, to which 
insulating handles are attached. Brass 
balls are soldered to the upper ends of 
the discharging rods, one having a 2-in. 
ball and the other one f in. in diameter. 

Caps made from brass are fitted 
tightly on the ends of the stationary 
shaft, D, and drilled through their 
diameter to admit heavy copper rods, 


make for themselves a swimming tank 
of concrete. The money was raised by 
various means to purchase the cement, 
and the work was done by themselves. 
The ground was selected in a secluded 
spot in a neighbor’s back yard and a 
hole dug to a depth of 4 ft., 12 ft. 
wide and 22 ft. long. The concrete 
was made by mixing 1 part cement, 4 
parts sand and 10 parts gravel to¬ 
gether and the bulk moistened with 
water. The bottom was made the. same 
as laying a sidewalk, and forms were 
only used for the inside of the sur¬ 
rounding wall. The tank may be hid¬ 
den with shrubbery or vines planted to 
grow over a poultry wire fence. 












179 


Old-Time Magic—Part IV 


Cutting a Thread Inside of a Glass Bottle 


This is a trick which can only be 
performed when the snn shines, but it 



is a good one. Procure a clear glass 
bottle" and stick a pin in the lower 
end of the cork. Attach a thread to 
the pin and tie a small weight to the 
end of the thread so it will hang inside 
the bottle when the cork is in place. 
Inform your audience that you will 
sever the thread and cause the weight 
to drop without removing the cork. 

All that is required to perform the 
feat is to hold a magnifying glass so 
as to direct the sun’s rays on the thread. 
The thread will quickly burn and the 
weight fall. 


Removing a Key from a Double String 

Tie the ends of a 5-ft. string to¬ 
gether, making a double line on which 
a key is placed and the string held as 
shown by the dotted lines in the sketch. 
Turn the palms of the hands toward 
you and reach over with the little finger 
of the right hand and take hold of the 
inside line near the left-hand thumb. 


Reverse the operation and take hold 
of the inside line near right-hand 
thumb with the little finger of the left 
hand. You will then have the string 
as it appears in the sketch. Quickly 
let loose of the string with a little fin¬ 
ger on one hand and a thumb on the 
other and pull the string taut. The 
key will drop from the string. 

-» «- ♦-»• 

How to Bore a Square Hole 


You would not.consider it possible 
to bore a square hole in a piece of card¬ 
board, yet such a thing can be done. 
Take a cardboard or a thin piece of 
wood, fold and place it between two 
pieces of board with the fold up; the 
boards are then put in a vise as shown. 
Start the bit with the screw point in 
the fold, using a 1-in. bit, and bore a 



Boring a Square Hole 


hole \ in. deep. When the cardboard 
is taken from the vise it will appear 
as shown at B and when unfolded, as 
at A. 



“The Key Will Drop from the String 1 












































180 


HOW TO MAKE COPPER TRAYS 



Copper trays such as are shown in 
the accompanying illustration are very 
useful as well as ornamental about the 
house. They can be used to keep pins 
and needles, pens and pencils, or cigar 
ashes, etc. They are easily made, re¬ 
quire no equipment in the way 
of tools except what are usually 
found about the house, unless it 
would be the metal shears, and 
when the decorations are well 
designed and the metal nicely 
colored, they make attractive 
little pieces to have about. 

The first thing to do in prep¬ 
aration for making them is to 
prepare the design. Simple de¬ 
signs work out better than fussy 
ones and are more likely to be 
within the ability of the ama¬ 
teur. Having determined the 
size of the tray, draw on paper 
an oblong to represent it. In¬ 
side this oblong draw another 
one to represent the lines along 
which the metal is to be bent 
up to form the sides. Inside 
this there should be drawn still 
another oblong to represent the margin 
up to which the background is to be 
worked. The trays shown are 5f by 6f 
in., the small ash tray 4 by 4 in., the 
long pen and pencil tray 4f by 9J in. 
The second oblong was f in. inside the 
first on all, and the third one J in. in¬ 
side the second on all. 

If the decoration is to have two parts 
alike—symmetrical—divide the space 
with a line down the middle. Draw 
one-half the design free hand, then fold 
along this line and trace the second 
half from this one. If the lines have 
been drawn with soft pencil, rubbing 
the back of the paper with a knife 
handle will force enough of the lead 
to the second side so that the outline 
can be determined. Four-part sym¬ 
metry will require two lines and two 
foldings, etc. 

For the metal working there will be 
needed a pair of tin shears, two spikes, 
file, flat and round-nosed pliers, screw¬ 


driver and sheet copper of Ho. 23 
gauge. Proceed as follows: 1. Cut 
off a piece of copper so that it shall 
have \ in. extra metal on each of the 
four sides. 2. With a piece of carbon 
paper trace upon the copper lines that 


Articles Made from Copper 

shall represent the margin of the tray 
proper and the lines along which the 
upturned sides of the tray are to be 
bent; also trace the decorative design. 
3. With a nail make a series of holes 
in the extra margin, about J in. apart 
and large enough to take in a f-in. 
slim screw. 4. Fasten the metal to a 
thick board by inserting screws in these 
holes. 5. With a 20-penny wire nail 
that has the sharpness of its point filed 
off, stamp the background promiscu¬ 
ously. By holding the nail about | in. 
above the work and striking it with the 
hammer, at the same time striving to 
keep it at J in. above the metal, very 
rapid progress can be made. This 
stamping lowers the background and at 
the same time raises the design. 
6. Chase or stamp along the border 
of the design and background, using a 
nail filed to chisel edge. This is to 
make a clean, sharp division between 
background and design. 7. When the 





181 


stamping is completed, remove the 
screws and the metal from the board 
and cut off the extra margin with the 
metal shears. File the edges until they 
are smooth to the touch. 8. With the 
flat pliers “raise” one side of the tray, 
then the other side. 9. Raise the ends, 
adjusting the corners as shown in the 
illustration. Use the round-nosed 
pliers for this purpose. 

Copper is frequently treated chem¬ 
ically to give it color. Very pretty 
effects may be obtained by covering the 
tray with turpentine, then moving it 
about over a flame such as a bunsen 
burner until the turpentine burns off. 
The copper will “take on” almost all 
the colors of a rainbow, and the effect 
will be most pleasing. 


Photograph of a Clown Face 


At first glance the accompanying 
photograph will appear as if the per¬ 
son photographed is wearing a false 
face or has his face painted like a 
clown. On close observation you will 
notice that the face is made on the 
bald head of the person sitting behind 
the table. The eyes, nose and mouth 
are cut from black paper and pasted 
on the bald spot. The subject’s face 
is horizontal and resting upon his 
hands. 



Finger Mathematics 


By Charles C. Bradley 


All machinists use mathematics. Ask 
a machinist what would be the product 
of 9 times 8 and his ready reply would 
be 72, but change the figures a little 
and say 49 times 48 and the chances 
are that instead of replying at once he 
will have to figure it out with a pencil. 
By using the following method it is 
just as easy to tell at a glance what 
99 times 99 are as 9 times 9. You will 
be able to multiply far beyond your 
most sanguine expectations. 

In the first numbering, begin by 
holding your hands with the palms 
toward the body and make imaginary 
numbers on the thumbs and fingers as 
follows: Thumbs, 6; first fingers, 7; 
second fingers, 8; third fingers, 9, and 
fourth fingers, 10. Suppose you desire 
to multiply 8 by 9, put the eighth finger 
on one hand against the ninth finger of 
the other hand as shown. 



The two joined fingers and all the 
fingers above them (calling the thumbs 
fingers) are called the upper fingers and 
each has a value of ten, which tens are 
added. All the fingers below the joined 
fingers are termed the lower fingers, 
and each of the lower fingers repre¬ 
sents a unit value of one. The sum of 
the units on one hand should be multi* 
plied by the sum of the units on the 
other hand. The total tens added to 
this last named sum will give the prod¬ 
uct desired. Thus: Referring to above 
picture or to your hands we find three 
tens on the left hand and four tens on 
the right, which would be 70. We also 


A Bald Head Photographed 










182 


find two units on the left hand and one 
on the right. Two times one are two, 
and 70 plus 2 equals 72, or the product 
of 8 times 9. 

Supposing 6 times 6 were the figures. 
Put your thumbs together; there are 
no fingers above, so the two thumbs rep¬ 
resent two tens or 20; below the 
thumbs are four units on each hand, 
which would be 16, and 20 plus 16 
equals 36, or the product of 6 times 6. 


Supposing 10 times 7 is desired. Put 
the little finger of the left hand against 
the first finger of the right hand. At a 
glance you see seven tens or 70. On 
the right hand you have three units and 
on the left nothing. Three times noth¬ 
ing gives you nothing and 70 plus noth¬ 
ing is 70. 

In the second numbering, or numbers 
above 10, renumber your fingers; 
thumbs, 11; first fingers, 12, etc. Let 
us multiply 12 by 12. 

Put together the tips of the fingers 
labeled 12. At a glance you see four 
tens or 40. At this point we leave the 
method explained in Case 1 and ignore 
the units (lower fingers) altogether. 
We go back to the upper fingers again 



and multiply the number of upper fin¬ 
gers used on the one hand by the num¬ 
ber of upper fingers used on the other 
hand, viz., 2 times 2 equals 4. Adding 
4 to 40 gives us 44. We now add 100 
(because anything over 10 times 10 
would make over 100) and we have 
144, the product of 12 times 12. 

The addition of 100 is arbitrary, but 
being simple it saves time and trouble. 
Still, if we wish, we might regard the 


four upper fingers in the above example 
as four twenties, or 80, and the six 
lower fingers as six tens, or 60; then 
returning to the upper fingers and 
multiplying the two on the right hand 
by the two on the left we would have 
4; hence 80 plus 60 plus 4 equals 144; 
therefore the rule of adding the lump 
sum is much the quicker and easier 
method. 

Above 10 times 10 the lump sum to 
add is 100; above 15 times 15 it is 200; 
above 20 times 20, 400; 25 times 25, 
600, etc., etc., as high as you want to 
go. 

In the third numbering to multiply 
above 15. renumber your fingers, begin¬ 
ning the thumbs with 16, first finger 
17, and so on. Oppose the proper finger 
tips as before, the upper fingers repre¬ 
senting a value of 20. Proceed as in 
the first numbering and add 200. Take 
for example 18 times 18. 

At a glance we see six twenties plus 
2 units on left hand times 2 units on 
right hand plus 200 equals 324. 

In the fourth numbering the fingers 
are marked, thumbs, 21, first fingers 
22, etc., the value of the upper fingers 
being 20. Proceed as in the second 
numbering, adding 400 instead of 100. 






. 183 



“18 Times 18“ 


Above 25 times 25 the upper fingers 
represent a value of 30 each and after 
proceeding as in the third numbering 
you add 600 instead of 200. 

This system can be carried as high 
as you want to go, but you must re¬ 
member that for figures ending in 1, 
2, 3, 4 and 5 proceed as in the second 
numbering. For figures ending in 6, 
7, 8, 9 and 10 the third numbering ap¬ 
plies. 

Determine the value of the upper 
fingers whether they represent tens, 
twenties, thirties, forties, or what. For 
example, any two figures between 45 
and 55, the value of the upper fingers 
would be 50, which is the half-way 
point between the two fives. In 82 
times 84 the value of the upper fingers 
would be 80 (the half-way point be¬ 
tween the two fives, 75 and 85, being 
80). And the lump sum to add. 

Just three things to remember: 
Which numbering is to follow, whether 
the one described in second or third 
numbering; the value which the upper 


fingers have; and, lastly, the lump sum 
to add, and you will be able to multi¬ 
ply faster and more accurately than 
you ever dreamed of before. 


Optical Illusions 

If a person observes fixedly for some 
time two balls hanging on the end of 
cords which are in rapid revolution, not 
rotation, about a vertical axis, the direc¬ 
tion of revolution will seem to reverse. 
In some experiments two incandescent 
“pills” of platinum sponge, such as are 
used for lighting gas-burners, were 
hung in tiny aluminum bells from a 
mica vane wheel which was turned con¬ 
stantly and rapidly in one direction by 
hot air from a gas flame to keep the 
platinum in a glow. The inversion and 
reversion did not take place, as one 
might suppose, at the will of the ob¬ 
server, but was compulsory and fol¬ 
lowed regular rules. If the observer 
watches the rotating objects from the 
side, or from above or from below, the 
inversion takes place against his will; 
the condition being that the image on 
the retina shall be eccentric. It takes 
place also, however, with a change in 
the convergence of the optical axes, 
whether they are parallel to each other 
or more convergent. Also when the 
image on the retina is made less distinct 
by the use of a convex or concave lens, 
the revolution seems to reverse; further, 
in the case of a nearsighted person, 
when he removes his spectacles, inver- 



lllusions Shown by Revolving Platinum Sponge “Pills” and Hat Pins 





















sion results every time that the image 
on the retina is not sharp. But even a 
change in the degree of indistinctness 
causes inversion. 

The cause of this optical illusion is 
the same where the wings of windmills 
are observed in the twilight as a sil¬ 
houette. It is then not a question of 
which is the front or the back of the 
wheel, but whether one of the wings or 
the other comes towards the observer. 
The experiment is made more simple by 
taking a hat pin with a conspicuous 
head, holding it firmly in a horizontal 
position, and putting a cork on the 
point. Looking at it in semi-darkness, 
one seems to see sometimes the head of 
the pin, sometimes the point towards 
him, when he knows which direction is 
right. The inversion will be continued 
as soon as one observes fixedly a point 
at the side. Here it is a question of the 
perception of depth or distance; and 
this is the same in the case of the rotat¬ 
ing balls; the direction of seeming revo¬ 
lution depends on which one of them 
one considers to be the front one and 
which the rear one. 

From the foregoing the following 
conclusion may be reached: When, in 
the case of a perception remitting two 
appearances, one fixedly observes one of 
these and then permits or causes change 
in the sharpness of the image on the 
retina, the other appearance asserts 
itself. 


Steam Engine Made from Gas 
Pipe and Fittings 

Almost all the material used in the 
construction of the parts for the small 
steam engine illustrated herewith was 
made from gas pipe and fittings. The 
cylinder consists of a 3-in. tee, the third 
opening being threaded and filled with 
a cast-iron plug turned to such a depth 
that when the interior was bored out on 
a lathe the bottom of the plug bored 
to the same radius as the other part 
of the tee. The outside end of the 
plug extended about J-in. and the sur¬ 
face was made smooth for the valve 
seat. A flat slide valve was used. 

The ports were not easy to make, as 


184 



The Engine Is About 20 Inches High 


they had to be drilled and chipped out. 
The steam chest is round, as it had to 
be made to fit the round tee connection. 
The crosshead runs in guides made 
from a piece of gas pipe with the sides 
cut out and threads cut on both ends. 
One end is screwed into a rim turned 
on the cylinder head and the other is 
fitted into an oblong plate. Both ends 
of this plate were drilled and tapped 
to receive lj-in. pipe. 

The main frame consists of one 1|- 
in. pipe 10 in. long and one made up 
from two pieces of pipe and a cross to 
make the whole length 10 in. These 
pipes were then screwed into pipe 
flanges that served as a base. The open 
part of the cross was babbitted to re¬ 
ceive the main shaft. The end of the 
shaft has a pillow block to take a part 
of the strain from the main bearing. 
The eccentric is constructed of washers. 
While this engine does not .give much 
power, it is easily built, inexpensive, 
and any one with a little mechanical 
ability can make one by closely follow¬ 
ing out the construction as shown in 
the illustration.—Contributed by W. H. 
Kutscher, Springfield, Ill. 



















185 


How to Make a Copper Bowl 


To make a copper bowl, such as is 
shown in the illustration, secure a piece 
of No. 21 gauge sheet copper of a size 
sufficient to make a circular disk 6% 
in. in diameter. 

Cut the copper to the circular form 
and size just mentioned, and file the 
edge so that it will be smooth and free 
from sharp places. With a pencil com¬ 
pass put on a series of concentric rings 
about % in. apart. These are to aid 
the eye in beating the bowl to form. 

The tools are simple and can be made 
easily. First make a round-nosed mal¬ 
let of some hard wood, which should 
have a diameter of about 1% in. across 
the head. If nothing better is at hand, 
saw off a section of a broom handle, 
round one end and insert a handle into 
a hole bored in its middle. Next take 
a block of wood, about 3 by 3 by 6 in., 
and make in one end a hollow, about 
2 in. across and % in. deep. Fasten the 
block solidly, as in a vise, and while 
holding the copper on the hollowed end 
of the block, beat with the mallet along 
the concentric rings. 

Begin at the center and work along 
the rings—giving the copper a circular 
movement as the beating proceeds— 
out toward the rim. Continue the cir¬ 
cular movement and work from the 
rim back toward the center. This 
operation is to be continued until the 
bowl has the shape desired, when the 
bottom is flattened by placing the bowl, 
bottom side up, on a flat surface and 
beating the raised part flat. 

Beating copper tends to harden it 
and, if continued too long without 
proper treatment, will cause the metal 
to break. To overcome this hardness, 
heat the copper over a bed of coals or 
a Bunsen burner to a good heat. This 
process is called annealing, as it 
softens the metal. 

The appearance of a bowl is greatly 
enhanced by the addition of a border. 
In the illustration the border design 
shown was laid out in pencil, a small 
hole was drilled with a band drill in 
each space and a small-bladed metal 
saw inserted and the part sawed out. 


To produce color effects on copper, 
cover the copper with turpentine and 



Shaping the Bowl and Sawing the Lace 


hold over a Bunsen burner until all 
parts are well heated. 


Cleaning Furniture 

After cleaning furniture, the greasy 
appearance may be removed by adding 
some good, sharp vinegar to the furni¬ 
ture polish. Vinegar, which is noth¬ 
ing else than diluted acetic acid, is one 
of the best cleansers of dirty furniture. 


Melting Lead in Tissue Paper 

Take a buckshot, wrap it tightly in 
one thickness of tissue paper, and, hold¬ 
ing the ends of the paper in the fingers 
of each hand, place the part that holds 
the shot over the flame of a match just 
far enough away from the flame not to 
burn the paper. In a few seconds un- 






























A 180 


fold the paper and yon will find that 
the shot has melted without even 
scorching the paper.—Contributed by 
W. 0. Hay, Camden, S. C. 


The Principles of the Stereograph 


Each of our eyes sees a different 
picture of any object; the one sees a 
trifle more to the right-hand side, the 
other to the left, especially when the 
object is near to the observer. The 
stereoscope is the instrument which 
effects this result by bringing the two 
pictures together in the senses. The 
stereograph produces this result in 
another way than by prisms as in the 
stereoscope. In the first place there is 



Looking Through the Colored Gelatine 


only one picture, not two mounted side 
by side. The stereograph consists of 
a piece of card, having therein two cir¬ 
cular openings about 1J in. diameter, 
at a distance apart corresponding to 
the distance between the centers of the 
pupils. The openings are covered with 
transparent gelatine, the one for the 
left eye being blue, that for the right, 
orange. The picture is viewed at a 
distance of about 7 in. from the stereo¬ 
graph. As a result of looking at it 
through the stereograph, one sees a 
colorless black and white picture which 
stands out from the background. Try 
looking at the front cover of Popular 
Mechanics through these colored gela¬ 
tine openings and the effect will be 
produced. 

If one looks at the picture first with 
the right eye alone through the orange 


glass, and then with the left eye 
through the blue glass, one will under¬ 
stand the principle on which the little 
instrument works. Looking through 
the blue glass with the left eye, one 
sees only those portions which are red 
on the picture. But they seem black. 
The reason is that the red rays are ab¬ 
sorbed by the blue filter. Through the 
orange gelatine all the white portions 
of the picture seem orange, because of 
the rays coming from them, and which 
contain all the colors of the spectrum; 
only the orange rays may pass through. 
The red portions of the picture are not 
seen, because, although they pass 
through the screen, they are not seen 
against the red ground of the picture. 
It is just as though they were not 
there. The left eye therefore sees a 
black picture on a red background. 

In the same way the right eye sees 
through the orange screen onty a black 
picture on a red background; this black 
image consisting only of the blue por¬ 
tions of the picture. 

Any other part of complementary 
colors than blue and orange, as for in¬ 
stance red and green, would serve the 
same purpose. 

The principle on which the stereo¬ 
graph works may be demonstrated by 
a very simple experiment. On white 
paper one makes a picture or mark 
with a red pencil. Looking at this 
through a green glass it appears black 
on a green ground; looking at it 
through a red glass of exactly the same 
color as the picture, it, however, disap¬ 
pears fully. 

Through the glass one will see only 
a regular surface of the color of the 
glass itself, and without any picture. 
Through a red glass a green picture 
will appear black. 

So with the stereograph; each eye 
sees a black picture representing one of 
the pictures given by the stereoscope; 
the only difference being that in the 
case of the stereograph the background 
for each eye is colored; while both eyes 
together see a white background. 

In the pictures the red and the 
green lines and dots must not coin- 

















187 


cide; neither can they be very far apart 
in order to produce the desired result. 
In order that the picture shall be 
“plastic,” which increases the sense of 
depth and shows the effect of distance 
in the picture, they must be a very 
trifle apart. The arrangement of the 
two pictures can be so that one sees the 
pictures either in front of or on the 
back of the card on which they are 
printed. In order to make them appear 
before the card, the left eye sees 
through a blue screen, but the red 
picture which is seen by it is a black 
one, and lies to the right on the 
picture; and the right eye sees the left- 
hand picture. The further apart the 
pictures are, the further from the card 
will the composite image appear. 

In the manufacture of a stereoscope 
the difficulty is in the proper arrange¬ 
ment of the prisms; with the stereo¬ 
graph, in the proper choice of colors. 
-- 

Mercury Make=and-Break Conneo 
tions for Induction Coils 


Induction coils operating on low 
voltage have a make-and-break connec¬ 
tion called the “buzzer” to increase the 
secondary discharge. Two types of 
make-and-break connection are used, 
the common “buzzer” operated by the 
magnetism of the core in the coil and 
the mercury break operated by a small 
motor. The sketch herewith shows how 
to make the motor-operated break. 
Two blocks of wood are nailed together 
in the shape of an L and a small motor 
fastened to the top of the vertical piece. 
The shaft of the motor is bent about 
in. in the shape of a crank, so that in 
turning it will describe a circle £ in. 
in diameter. A small connecting bar is 
cut from a piece of brass £ in. thick, £ 
in. wide and 1 in. long and a hole 
drilled in each end; one hole to fit the 
motor shaft and the other to slip on a 
No. 12 gauge wire. Two L-shaped 
pieces of brass are fastened to the side 
of the block and drilled with holes of 
such a size that a No. 12 gauge wire 
will slip through snugly. Place a No. 



12 gauge wire in these holes and bend 
the top end at right angles. 

Put the connecting brass bar on the 
motor shaft with washers fitted tight 
on each side and slip the other end 
over the bent end of the wire. Have 
the wire plenty long so it can be cut 
to the proper length when the parts are 
all in place. A small round bottle about 
\ in. in diameter is now fitted in a hole 
that has been previously bored into the 
middle of the bottom block and close 
up to the vertical piece. This should 
only be bored about half way through 
the block. The wire is now cut so at 
the length of the stroke the end will 
come to about one-half the depth, or 
the middle of the bottle. 

Fill the bottle with mercury to a 
point so that when the motor is run¬ 
ning, the end of the wire will be in the 
mercury for about one-half of the 
stroke. Cover the mercury over with a 
little alcohol. A No. 14 gauge iron 
wire is bent and put into the side of the 
bottle with the end extending to the 
bottom. The other end of this wire is 
attached to one binding-post placed at 
the end of the bottom block. The other 
binding-post is connected to a small 
brass brush attached to the side of the 




































188 


vertical piece, which is placed with 
some pressure on the moving wire. The 
motor can be run with a current from 
a separate course or connected as shown 
on the same batteries with the coil. The 
proper height of the mercury can be 
regulated for best results. The motor 
must run continuous if the coil is used 
for writing code signals, wireless, etc.,— 
Contributed by Haraden Pratt, San 
Francisco, Cal. 

-»-♦ ♦- 

How to Make a Barometer 


Atmospheric pressure is measured by 
the barometer. The weight of the air 
in round numbers is 15 lb. to the 
square inch and will support a column 
of water 1 in. square, 

34 ft. high, or a col- 
u m n , of mercury 
(density 13.6) 1 in. 
square, 30 in. high. 

The parts neces¬ 
sary to make a sim¬ 
ple barometer are, a 
glass tube -J in. in¬ 
ternal diameter and 
about 34 in. long, a 
bottle 1 in. inside di¬ 
ameter and 2; in. 
high. Seal one 'end 
of the tube by hold¬ 
ing it in the flame of 
a gas burner, which 
will soon soften the 
glass so it can be 
pinched together 
with pliers. Put a 
little paraffin in the 
bottle and melt it by 
holding the bottle 
over a small flame. When cool the 
paraffin should cover the bottom about 
1/16 in. thick. The tube is now to be 
filled with mercury. This may be ac¬ 
complished with a paper funnel, but 
before attempting to put in the mer¬ 
cury, place a large dish or tray be¬ 
neath the tube to catch any mercury 
that may accidentally be spilled. Only 
redistilled mercury should be used, and 
the tube should be perfectly clean be¬ 
fore filling. When the tube is filled to 


within 1 in. of the open end place the 
forefinger over the hole and tilt the 
tube up and down so all the air will 
gather at the finger end. The filling 
is continued until the tube is full of 
mercury. The glass bottle containing 
the wax covered bottom is now placed 
over the end of the tube and pressed 
firmly to insure an airtight fit with 
the tube. The bottle and tube are in¬ 
verted and after a few ounces of mer¬ 
cury are put in the bottle the tube may 
be raised out of the wax, but be care¬ 
ful not to bring its edge above the sur¬ 
face of the mercury. 

The instrument is put aside while 
the base is being made, or, if you choose, 
have the base ready to receive the parts 
just described when they are completed. 
Cut a base from a piece of J-in. pine 

3 in. wide and 40 in. long. In this 
base cut a groove to fit the tube and the 
space to be occupied by the bottle is 
hollowed out with a chisel to a depth 
of f in., so the bottle rests on one-half 
of its diameter above the surface of the 
board and one-half below. The instru¬ 
ment is made secure to the base with 
brass strips tacked on as shown in the 
sketch. After the instrument is in 
place put enough mercury in the bottle 
so the depth of the mercury above the 
bottom end of the tube will be about 

4 in. 

The scale is made on a piece of card¬ 
board 2 in. wide and 4 in. long. The 
4 in. are marked off and divided into 
sixteenths, and the inches numbered 27 
up to 31. The scale is fastened to the 
base with glue or tacks and in the posi¬ 
tion behind the tube as shown in the 
sketch. Before fastening the scale, the 
instrument should be compared with a 
standard barometer and the scale ad¬ 
justed so both readings are the same. 
But if a standard barometer is not 
available, the instrument, if accurately 
constructed, will calibrate itself. 

In general, a drop in the mercury 
indicates a storm and bad weather, 
while a rise indicates fair weather and 
in winter a frost. Sudden changes in 
the barometer are followed by like 
changes in weather. The slow rise of 

































180 


the mercury predicts fair weather, and 
a slow fall, the contrary. During the 
frosty days the drop of the mercury is 
followed by a thaw and a rise indicates 
snow. 


Home-Made Post or Swinging 
Light 


Remove the bottom from a round 
bottle of sufficient size to admit a wax 
or tallow candle. 
This can be done 
with a glass cut¬ 
ter or a hot ring 
the size of the 
outside of the 
bottle, which is 
slipped quickly 
over the end. 
Procure a metal 
can cover, a cover 
from a baking 
powder can will 
do, arid fit it on 
the end where 
the bottom was 
removed. The 
cover is punched 
full of holes to 
admit the air 
and a cross cut 
in the center 
with the four 
wings thus made 
by the cutting 
turned up to form a place to insert the 
candle. The metal cover is fastened to 
the bottle with wires as shown in the 
sketch. This light can be used on a 
post or hung from a metal support. 

-♦- 

A Checker Puzzle 


Cut a block from a board about 3 in. 
wide and 10 in. long. Sandpaper all 
the surfaces and round the edges slight¬ 
ly. Mark out seven 1-in. squares on 
the surface to be used for the top and 
color the squares alternately white and 
black. Make six men by sawing a cur¬ 
tain roller into pieces about § in. thick. 
N umber the pieces 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7, 



and place them as shown in Fig. 1. 
The puzzle is to make the first three 
change places with the last three and 



Position of the Men 

move only one at a time. This may 
be done as follows: 

Move 1 — Move No. 3 to the center. 

Move 2—Jump No. 5 over No. 3. 

Move 3 — Move No. 6 to No. 5’s place. 

Move 4 — Jump No. 3 over No. o. 

Move 5 — Jump No. 2 over No. 5. 

Move 6 — Move No. 1 to No. 2's place. 

Move 7 — Jump No. 5 over No. 1. 

Move 8 — Jump No. 6 over No. 2. 

Move 9 — Jump No. 7 over No. 3. 

Move 10 — Move No. 3 Into No. 7’s place. 

Move 11 — Jump No. 2 over No. 7. 

Move 12 — Jump No. 1 over No. (>. 

Move 3 3 — Move No. 6 into No. 2’s place. 

Move 14 — Jump No. 7 over No. 1. 

Move 15 — Move No. 1 Into No. 5’s place. 

After the 15 moves are made the 
men will have changed places. This 
can be done on a checker board, as 
shown in Fig. 2, using checkers for 
men, but be sure you so situate the 
men that they will occupy a row con¬ 
taining only 7 spaces. — Contributed by 
W. L. Wooison, Cape May Point, N. J. 

-» — • " 4 - - 

Covering railroad signals with gold 
leaf has taken the place of painting on 
some roads. Gold leaf will stand the 
wear of the weather for 15 or 20 years, 
while paint requires recovering three or 
four times a year. 







































190 


How to Make a Bell Tent 


A bell tent is easily made and is nice 
for lawns, as well as for a boy’s camp¬ 
ing outfit. The illustrations show a 
plan of a tent 14 ft. in diameter. To 
make such a tent, procure unbleached 
tent duck, which is the very best ma¬ 
terial for the purpose, says the Cleve¬ 
land Plain Dealer. Make 22 sections, 
shaped like Fig. 3, each 10 ft. 6 in. long 
and 2 ft. 2 in. wide at the bottom, taper¬ 
ing in a straight line to a point at the 
top. These dimensions allow for the 
laid or lapped seams, which should be 


of the wall firmly to the bell cover at 
the point indicated by the dotted line, 
Fig. 2. 

For the top of the tent have the 
blacksmith make a hoop of %-in. round 
galvanized iron, 6 in. diameter. Stitch 
the canvas at the apex around the hoop 
and along the sides. Make the apex 
into a hood and line it with stiff canvas. 
Have the tent pole 3 in. in diameter, 
made in two sections, with a socket 
joint and rounded at the top to fit into 
the apex of the tent. 



Fig.5 

An Inexpensive Home-Made Tent 


double-stitched on a machine. The 
last seam sew only for a distance of 4 
ft. from the top, leaving the rest for an 
opening. At the end of this seam stitch 
on an extra gusset piece so that it will 
not rip. Fold back the edges of the 
opening and the bottom edge of the 
bell-shaped cover and bind it with wide 
webbing, 3 in. across and having eye¬ 
lets at the seams for attaching the stay 
ropes. Near the apex of the cover cut 
three triangular holes 8 in. long and 4 
in. wide at the bottom and hem the 
edges. These are ventilators. Make 
the tent wall of the same kind of cloth 
2 ft. 2 in. high. Bind it at the upper 
edge with webbing and at the bottom 
with canvas. Also stitch on coarse 
canvas 6 in. wide at the bottom, and 
the space between the ground and the 
wall when the tent is raised, fill with 
canvas edging. Stitch the upper edge 


In raising the tent, fasten down the 
wall by means of loops of stout line 
fastened to its lower edge and small 
pegs driven through them into the 
ground, Fig. 5. Run the stay ropes 
from the eyelets in the circular cover 
to stakes (Fig. 5) stuck in the ground. 
Use blocks, as in Fig. 6, on the stay 
ropes for holding the ends and adjust¬ 
ing the length of the ropes. 


Simple X-Ray Experiment 

The outlines of the bones of the hand 
may be seen by holding a piece of rice 
paper before the eyes and placing the 
spare hand about 12 in. back of the rice 
paper and before a bright light. The 
bony structure will be clearly dis¬ 
tinguishable.—Contributed by G. J. 
Tress, Emsworth, Pa. 












191 


How to Make a Candle Shade 


Lay out the pattern for the shade on 
a thin piece of paper, 9 by 12 in., mak- 
ing'the arcs of the circle with a pencil 
compass. As shown in the sketch, the 
pattern for this particular shade covers 
a half circle with 2% in. added. Allow¬ 
ance must be made for the lap and as 
14 in. will do, a line is drawn parallel 
% in. from the one drawn through the 
center to the outside circle that ter¬ 
minates the design. 

Nail a thin sheet of brass, about 9 
in. wide by 12 in. long, to a smooth 
board of soft wood, then trace the de¬ 
sign on the brass by laying a piece of 
carbon paper between the pattern and 
the brass. After transferring the de¬ 
sign to the brass, use a small awl to 
punch the holes in the brass along the 
outlines of the figures traced. Punch 
holes in the brass in the spaces around 
the outlined figures, excepting the % 
in. around the outside of the pattern. 
When all the holes are punched, re¬ 
move the brass sheet from the board 
and cut it along the outer lines as 
traced from the pattern, then bend the 
brass carefully so as not to crease the 
figures appearing in relief. When the 
edges are brought together by bending, 
fasten them with brass-headed nails or 
brads. 

If a wood-turning lathe is at hand, 
the shade can be made better by turn¬ 
ing a cone from soft wood that will fit 
the sheet-brass shade after it is shaped 
and the edges fastened together. The 
pattern is traced as before, but before 
punching the holes, cut out the brass 
on the outside lines, bend into shape, 
fasten the ends together and place on 
the wood cone. The holes are now 
punched on the outlines traced from 
the pattern and the open spaces made 
full of holes. The holes being punched 
after the shade is shaped, the metal 
will stay and hold the perfect shape of 
a cone much better. 

The glass-beaded fringe is attached 
on the inside of the bottom part with 
small brass rivets or brads placed about 
% in. apart. The thin sheet brass may 
be procured from the local hardware 



Punching the Holes 

Completed Shade Pattern 

dealer and sometimes can be purchased 
from general merchandise stores.—* 
Contributed by Miss Kathryn E. Corr, 
Chicago. 


A Putty Grinder 

Having a large number of windows 
to putty each week, I found it quite 
a task to prepare the putty. I facili¬ 
tated the work by using an ordinary 
meat cutter or sausage grinder. The 
grinder will soften set putty and will 
quickly prepare cold putty. It will 
not, however, grind old putty or make 
putty from whiting and oil. --Contrib¬ 
uted by H. G. Stevens, Dunham, Que. 


















192 


Home-Made Small Churn 


Many people living in a small town 
or in the suburbs of a city own one 



Making Butter 


cow that supplies the family table with 
milk and cream. Sometimes the cream 
will accumulate, but not in sufficient 
quantities to be made into butter in a 


large churn. A fruit jar usually takes 
the place of a churn and the work is 
exceedingly hard, the jar being shaken 
so the cream will beat against the ends 
in the process of butter-making. The 
accompanying sketch shows clearly 
how one boy rigged up a device having 
a driving wheel which is turned with 
a crank, and a driven wheel attached 
to an axle having a crank on the inner 
end. This crank is connected to a 
swinging cradle with a wire pitman of 
such a size as to slightly bend or spring 
at each end of the stroke. The cradle 
is made with a cleat fastened to each 
end, between which is placed the fruit 
jar, partially filled with cream. The 
jar is wedged in between the cleats and 
the churning effected by turning the 
crank.—Contributed by Geo. E. Badger, 
Mayger, Oregon. 


Home-Made Round Swing 


Gas pipe and fittings were used 
wherever possible in the making of the 
swing as shown in the photograph. 
The diagram drawing 
shows the construction. A 
6-in. square cedar post is 
set in the ground about 3 
ft., allowing 2 ft. to remain 
above the ground and a 
%-in. piece of shafting is 
driven into the top part of 
this post for an axle. A 
cast-iron ring, or, better 
still, a heavy wheel with 
four spokes of such a size 
as to be drilled and tapped 
for %-in. pipe is used for 
the hub, or center on which 
the frame swings. If a 
wheel is selected, the rim 
must be removed and only 
the spokes and hub used. 

The hole in the hub must 
be % in. or less, so the hub can be fitted 
to the shafting that is driven in the 
post. A large washer is placed on top 
of the post and the hub or cast-iron ring 
set on the washer. 

The drilled and tapped holes in the 
four spokes are each fitted with a 4%-ft. 
length of %-in. pipe. These pipes are 


each fitted with a tee on the end and 
into this tee uprights of %-in. pipe in 
suitable lengths are screwed, and also 


The Merry- 

short lengths .et <. 

the 6-in. wheel are fitted in x 
side of the tee. The uprights at the 
upper ends are also fitted wff 1 '* tees and 
each joined to the center >e with 
%-in. pipe flattened oru^h'e inner end 
and fastened with bolts t'O -a flange. 

The bottom part of the cloth cover- 















193 


in g is held in place by a ^-in. pipe, bent 
to the desired circle. Four braces made 
from %-in. pipe connect each spoke and 
seat to the flange on the center pipe. 
An extra wheel 18 in. in diameter is 
fitted in between two seats and used 
as the propelling wheel. This wheel 
has bicycle cranks and 
pedals and carries a seat or 
a hobby horse. The four 
seats are fastened to the 
four pipes with in. pipe 
clamps. 

Small miniature electric 
lights are fastened to the 
overhead braces and sup¬ 
plied with electric current 
carried through wires to 
the swing by an ingenious 
device attached to the un¬ 
der side of the cast-iron 
ring or hub of the wheel. 

A ring of fiber on which 
two brass rings are at¬ 
tached is fastened to the 
hub and connections are 
made to the two rings through two 
brushes fastened to the post with a 
bracket. The wires run under the sur¬ 
face of ,the ground outside and con¬ 
nected to the source of electricity. The 
wires from the brass rings run through 
the center pipe to the top and are con¬ 
nected to the lamp sockets. 


shaped and furnished with hinged cov¬ 
ers. The smallest need be no larger 
than necessary to hold the coin and 
each succeeding box should be just 
large enough to hold the next smaller 
one which in turn contains the others. 

A strip of tin about 1 by 1% in. is 



Details of the Swing 


bent in the shape as shown in Fig. 2 to 
serve as a guide for the coin through 
the various boxes. This guide is in¬ 
serted about Ys in. in the smallest box 
between the cover and the box and 
three rubber bands wrapped around the 
box as indicated. This box is then en¬ 
closed in the next larger box, the guide 
being allowed to project between the 
box and the cover, and the necessary 



UUllUiii yJ r ^au. 

The nc^t or series of boxes in which 
the coin is afterwards found should 
consist rf four small sized flat paste¬ 
board boxes square or rectangular 


adjusted so that finally the prepared 
nest of boxes appears as in Fig. 3. 

The coin can easily be passed into 
the inner box through the tin guide, 








































194 


then the guide can be withdrawn which 
permits the respective boxes to close 
and the rubber bands hold each one in 
a closed position. 

The performer comes forward with 
the tin can in his right hand, the bot¬ 
tom of the can in his palm with the 
slot at the right side. He removes the 
cover with the left hand and passes his 
wand around the inner part of the can 
which is then turned upside down to 
prove that it contains nothing. The 
marked coin is dropped into the can by 
some one in the audience. The cover 
is replaced and the can shaken so the 
coin will rattle within. The shaking of 
the can is continued until the coin has 
slipped through the slot into his palm. 
The can is then placed on the table 
with his left hand. Then apparently 
he looks for something to cover the 
can. This is found to be a handker¬ 
chief which was previously prepared 
on another table concealing the nest of 
boxes. The coin in the right hand is 
quickly slipped into the guide of the 
nest of boxes, which was placed in an 
upright position, and the guide with¬ 
drawn, and dropped on the table. The 
performer, while doing this, is explain¬ 
ing that he is looking for a suitable 
cover for the can, but as he cannot find 
one he takes the handkerchief instead. 
The handkerchief is spread over the 
can and then he brings the nest of 
boxes. He explains how he will trans¬ 
fer the coin and passes his wand from 
the can to the boxes. The can is then 
shown to be empty and the boxes given 
to one in the audience to be opened. 
They will be greatly surprised to find 
the marked coin within the innermost 
box. 


How to Keep Film Negatives 

There are many devices for taking 
care of film negatives to keep them 
from curling and in a place easily ac¬ 
cessible. Herewith is illustrated a 
method by which anyone can make a 
place for the negatives produced by his 
or her special film camera. The de¬ 
vice is made up similar to a post card 
album with places cut through each 
leaf to admit each corner of the 


negatives. The leaves are made from 
white paper and when the negatives are 
in place the pictures made on them can 



Negatives on White Paper Background 


easily be seen through to the white 
paper background. These leaves can 
be made up in regular book form, or 
tied together similar to a loose-leaf 
book, thus adding only such pages as 
the negatives on hand will require.—■ 
Contributed by H. D. Harkins, St. 
Louis, Mo. 


Home-Made Match Safe 

Cut a piece of tin in the shape and 
with the dimensions shown in Fig. 1. 
Bend the saw-toothed edges at right 
angles to the piece on the dotted lines. 
Bend the part that is marked 5% in. in 
a half circle. Make a circle 3% in. in 
diameter on another piece of tin, cut 



out the circle and cut the disk in two 
as shown in Fig. 2. These half circle 
pieces are soldered to the sides of the 
teeth of the half circle made in the 
long piece of tin. Remove one end 
from the inside box containing matches 
and slip the back of the match safe 
through between the bottom of the in¬ 
side box and the open end box that 



































195 


forms the cover. The matches will fall 
into the half circle tray at the lower 
end of the box which will be kept full 
of matches until they are all used from 
the box.—Contributed by C. F. White, 
Denver, Colo. 


An Electric Post Card Projector 

A post card projector is an instru¬ 
ment for projecting on a screen in a 
darkened room picture post cards or 
any other pictures of a similar size. 
The lantern differs from the ordinary 
magic lantern in two features; first, it 
requires no expensive condensing lens, 
and second, the objects to be projected 
have no need of being transparent. 

Two electric globes are made to cast 
the strongest possible light on the pic¬ 
ture card set between them and in 
front of which a lens is placed to pro¬ 
ject the view on the screen, the whole 
being enclosed in a light-tight box. 
The box can be made of selected oak 
or mahogany. The lens to be used as 
a projector will determine the size of 
the box to some extent. The measure^ 
ments given in these instructions are 
for a lens of about 5 in. focal length. 
The box should be constructed of well- 
seasoned wood and all joints made with 
care so they will be light-tight. 

The portion shown carrying the lens 
in Fig. 1 is made to slide in the main 
body of the lantern for focusing. A 
box should first be made 5% in. wide, 
5% i n - high and 11 in. long. A hole is 
cut in the back of the box 4 by 6 in. 
represented by the dotted line in Fig. 
2. This will be % in. from the top and 
bottom and 2% in. from each end of the 
outside of the box. Two strips of wood 
y 2 in. wide and 6y 2 in. long are fastened 
along the top and bottom of the back. 
The door covering this hole in the back, 
and, which is also used as a carrier for 
the post cards, is made from a board 
4 y 2 in. wide and 6y 2 in. long. The 
door is hinged to the lower strip and 
held in position by a turn button on the 
upper strip. The slides for the picture 
cards are made from strips of tin bent 
as shown, and tacked to the inside sur¬ 
face of the door. 


The runners to hold the part carry¬ 
ing the lens are two pieces 2y in. wide 
by 5 in. long and should be placed ver¬ 



tically, AA, as shown in Fig. 1, ?A/ 2 in. 
from each end. An open space 4 in. 
wide and 5 in. high in the center is for 
the part carrying the lens to slide for 
focusing. The part carrying the lens 
is a shallow box 4 by 5 in. and 2 in. 
deep in the center of which a hole is 
cut to admit the lens. If a camera lens 
is used, the flange should be fastened 
with screws to the front part of this 
shallow box. The sides of this box 
should be made quite smooth and a 
good, but not tight, fit into the runners. 
Plumbago can be rubbed on to prevent 
sticking and to dull any rays of light. 

Two keyless receptacles for electric 
globes are fastened to the under side of 
the top in the position shown and con¬ 
nected with wires from the outside. 
Two or three holes about 1 in. in di¬ 
ameter should be bored in the top be¬ 
tween and in a line with the lights. 
These will provide ventilation to keep 
the pictures from being scorched or be¬ 
coming buckled from the excessive 
heat. The holes must be covered over 
on the top with a piece of metal or 
wood to prevent the light from show¬ 
ing on the ceiling. This piece should 
not be more than y 2 in. high and must 





















































196 



be colored dead black inside to cause 
no reflection. 

The reflectors are made of sheet tin 
or nickel-plated metal bent to a curve 
as shown, and extending the whole 
height of the lantern. The length of 
these reflectors can be determined by 
the angle of the lens when covering the 
picture. This is clearly shown by the 
dotted lines in Fig. 1. The reflectors 
must not interfere with the light be¬ 
tween the picture and the lens, but 
they must be sufficiently large to pre¬ 
vent any direct light reaching the lens 
from the lamps. In operation place the 
post card upside down in the slides and 
close the door. Sliding the shallow 
box carrying the lens will focus the 
picture on the screen. 


A Handy Calendar 

“Thirty days hath September, April, 
June and November,” etc., and many 
other rhymes and devices are used to 
aid the memory to decide how many 
days are in each month of the year. 
Herewith is illustrated a very simple 
method to determine the 
number of days in any 
month. Place the first finger 
of your right hand on the 
first knuckle of your left 
hand, calling that knuckle 
January; then drop your 
finger into the depression be¬ 
tween the first and second 
knuckles, calling this Febru¬ 
ary; then the second knuckle 
will be March, and so on, until you 
reach July on the knuckle of the little 


finger, then begin over again with 
August on the first knuckle and con¬ 
tinue until December is reached. Each 
month as it falls upon a knuckle will 
have 31 days and those down between 
the knuckles 30 days with the exception 
of February which has only 28 days.—• 
Contributed by Chas. C. Bradley, West 
Toledo, Ohio. 


The Fuming of Oak 

Darkened oak always has a better 
appearance when fumed with ammonia. 
This process is rather a difficult one, 
as it requires an airtight case, but the 
description herewith given may be en¬ 
tered into with as large a case as the 
builder cares to construct. 

Oak articles can be treated in a case 
made from a tin biscuit box, or any 
other metal receptacle of good propor¬ 
tions, provided it is airtight. The oak 
to be fumed is arranged in the box so 
the fumes will entirely surround the 
piece; the article may be propped up 
with small sticks, or suspended by a 
string. The chief point is to see that 
no part of the wood is covered up and 
that all surfaces are exposed to the 
fumes. A saucer of ammonia is placed 
in the bottom of the box, the lid or 
cover closed, and all joints sealed up 
by pasting heavy brown paper over 
them. Any leakage will be detected 
if the nose is placed near the tin and 
farther application of the paper will 
stop the holes. A hole may be cut in the 
cover and a piece of glass fitted in, tak¬ 
ing care to have all the edges closed. 
The process may be watched through 
the glass and the article removed when 

July 
June 

May — Dec. 
Apr. —- Nov. 
Mar. — Oct. 
Feb. —“ Sept. 
cJarv —Aug. 


The Knuckles Designate the 31-Day Months 

the oak is fumed to the desired shade. 
Wood stained in this manner should 



















197 


not be French polished or varnished, 
but waxed. 

The process of waxing is simple: 
Cut some beeswax into fine shreds and 
place them in a small pot or jar. Pour 
in a little turpentine, and set aside for 
half a day, giving it an occasional stir. 
The wax must be thoroughly dissolved 
and then more turpentine added until 
the preparation has the consistency of 
a thick cream. This can be applied to 
the wood with a rag and afterward 
brushed up with a stiff brush. 


How to Make an Electrolytic Rectifier 


Many devices which will change al¬ 
ternating current to a direct current 



Electrolytic Rectifier and Connections 


have been put on the market, but prob¬ 
ably there is not one of them which 
suits the amateur’s needs and pocket- 
book better than the electrolytic rec¬ 


tifier. 

For the construction of such a rec¬ 
tifier four 2-qt. fruit jars are required. 
In each place two electrodes, one of 
lead and one of aluminum. The im¬ 
mersed surface of the aluminum should 
be about 15 sq. in. and the lead 24 sq. 
in. The immersed surface of the lead 
being greater than that of the alumi¬ 
num, the lead will have to be crimped 
as shown in Fig. 1. In both Fig. 1 and 
2, the lead is indicated by L and the 
aluminum ‘by A. 

The solution with which each jar is 
to be filled consists of the following: 


■\\r a t er .2 qt. 

Sodium ’ Carbonate.2 tablespoonfuls 

Xlurn . 3 tablespoonfuls 

Care should be taken to leave the 
connections made as shown in Fig. 2. 
The alternating current comes in on the 
wires as shown, and the direct current 
is taken from the point indicated. 


The capacity of this rectifier is from 
3 to 5 amperes, which is sufficient for 
charging small storage batteries, run¬ 
ning small motors and lighting small 
lamps.—Contributed by J. H. Craw¬ 
ford, Schenectady, N. Y. 


The Rolling Marble 

Take a marble 
and place it on 
a smooth surface, 
the top of a table 
will do. Ask 
some one to 
cross their first 
and second fin¬ 
gers and place 
them on the 
marble as shown 
in the illustra¬ 
tion. Then have 
the person roll 
the marble about 
and at the same 
time close the 
eyes or look in 
another d i r e c- 
tion. The person will imagine that 
there are two marbles instead of one. 


A Gas Cannon 

If you have a small cannon with a 
bore of 1 or 1% in., bore out the fuse 
hole large enough to tap and fit in a 
small sized spark plug such as used on 
a gasoline engine. Fill the cannon with 
gas from a gas jet and then push a 




cork in the bore close up to the spark 
plug. Connect one of the wires from a 
battery to a spark coil and then to the 
spark plug. Attach the other wire to 
the cannon near the spark plug. Turn 
the switch to make a spark and a loud 
report will follow. Contributed by 
Cyril Tegner, Cleveland, O. 


























198 


Old-Time Magic—Part VI 

A Handkerchief Mended after Being Cut 
and Torn 

Two persons are requested to come 
forward from the audience to hold the 
four corners of a handkerchief. Then 
beg several other handkerchiefs from 
the audience and place them on the one 
held by the two persons. When several 
handkerchiefs have been accumulated, 
have some one person draw out one 
from the bunch and examine for any 
marks that will determine that this 
handkerchief is the one to be mended 
after being mutilated. He, as well as 
others, are to cut off pieces from this 
handkerchief and to finally tear it to 
pieces. 

The pieces are then all collected and 
some magic spirits thrown over the 
torn and cut parts; tie them in a small 
package with a ribbon and put them 
under a glass, which you warm with 
your hands. After a few seconds’ time, 
you remove the glass, as you have held 
it all the time, and take the handker¬ 
chief and unfold it; everyone will rec¬ 
ognize the mark and be amazed not 
to find a cut or tear in the texture. 

This trick is very simple. You have 
an understanding with some one in 
the company, who has two handker¬ 
chiefs exactly alike and has given one 
of them to a person behind the curtain; 
he throws the other, at the time of re¬ 
quest for handkerchiefs, on the hand¬ 
kerchiefs held for use in the perform¬ 
ance of the trick. You manage to keep 
this handkerchief where it will be 
picked out in preference to the others, 
although pretending to thoroughly mix 
them up. The person selected to pick 
out a handkerchief naturally will take 
the handiest one. Be sure that this is 
the right one. 

When the handkerchief has been torn 
and folded, put it under the glass, on a 
table, near a partition or curtain. The 
table should be made with a hole cut 
through the top and a small trap door 
fitted snugly in the hole, so it will 
appear to be a part of the table top. 
This trap door is hinged on the under 
side and opens into the drawer of the 
table and can be operated by the per¬ 


son behind the curtain who will remove 
the torn handkerchief and replace it 
with the good one and then close the 
trap door by reaching through the 
drawer of the table. 

The Magic Knot 

This is a very amusing trick which 
consists of tying one knot with two 
ends of a handkerchief, and pulling the 



ends only to untie them again. Take 
the two diagonal corners of a handker¬ 
chief, one in each hand and throw the 
main part of the handkerchief over the 
wrist of the left hand and tie the knot 
as shown in the illustration. Pull the 
ends quickly, allowing the loop over 
the left hand to slip freely, and you will 
have the handkerchief without any 
knot. 


A Good Mouse Trap 

When opening a tomato or other 
small can, cut the cover crossways 
from side to side making four trian¬ 
gular pieces in the top. Bend the four 
ends outward and remove the contents, 
wash clean and dry and then bend the 
four ends inward, leaving a hole about 
% in. in diameter in the center. Drop 
in a piece of bread and lay the can 
down upon its side and the trap is 
ready for use. The mouse can get in 
but he cannot get out.—Contributed 
by E. J. Crocker, Victor, Colo. 


Rubbing the surface of an aluminum 
plate with a steel brush will produce a 
satin finish. 






199 


How to Make a Sailing Canoe 


A canvas canoe is easily made and 
light to handle, but in making one, it 
must be remembered that the cloth will 
tear, if any snags are encountered. 
Therefore such a craft cannot be used 
in all waters, but by being careful at 
shores, it can be used as safely as an 
ordinary sailing canoe. Be sure to 
select the best materials and when 
complete cover the seams well with 
paint. 


The keelson, Fig. 1, is 14 ft. long, 8 
in. wide in the center and tapered down 
from a point 4 ft. from each end to 1 
in. at the ends. Both ends are mor¬ 
tised, one 6 in. for the stern piece, and 
the other 12 in. for the bow. Be sure 
to get the bow and stern pieces directly 
in the middle of the keelson and at 
right angles with the top edge. The 
stern and bow pieces are cut as shown 
in Fig. 2 and braced with an iron band, 



Completed Sailing Canoe 


The materials necessary for the con¬ 
struction of a sailing canoe, as illus¬ 
trated in the engraving, are as follows: 

1 keelson, 1 in. by 8 in. by 15 ft., selected pine. 

14 rib bands, 1 in. square by 16 ft., clear pine. 

2 gunwales, 1 in. by 2 in. by 16 ft. 

1 piece for forms and bow pieces, 1 in. by 12 
in. by 10 ft. 

4 outwales, l A in. by 2 in. by 16 ft. 

1 piece, 3 in. wide and 12 ft. long, for cockpit 
frame. 

I piece, 2 in. wide and 12 ft. long, for center deck 
braces. 

II yd. of 1^-yd. wide 12-oz. ducking. 

8 yd. of 1-yd. wide unbleached muslin. 

50 ft. of rope. 

1 mast, 9 ft. long. 

Paint, screws and cleats. 


y 8 in. thick and % in. wide, drilled and 
fastened with screws. 

Study the sketches showing the de¬ 
tails well before starting to cut out the 
pieces. Then there will be no trouble 
experienced later in putting the parts 
together. See that all the pieces fit 
their places as the work proceeds and 
apply the canvas with care. 

Two forms are made as shown in 
Figs. 3 and 4; the smaller is placed 3 
ft. from the bow and the large one, 7 




200 


ft. 3 in. from the stern. The larger 
mould is used temporarily while mak¬ 
ing the boat, and is removed after the 
ribs are in place. The gunwales are 
now placed over the forms and in the 
notches shown, and fastened with 
screws, and, after cutting the ends to 
fit the bow and stern pieces, they are 
fastened with bolts put through the 
three pieces. The sharp edges on one 
side of each rib-band are removed and 
seven of them fastened with screws to 
each side of the moulds, spacing them 
on the large mould 4 in. apart. The 
ribs are made of 28 good barrel hoops 


son, 3% ft. from the bow, with bolts 
through countersunk holes from the 
under side. 

There are three deck braces made 
as shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8. Braces, 
Figs. 6 and 7, form the ends of the cock¬ 
pit which is 20 in. wide. A 6-in. board 
is fitted into the mortises shown in 
these pieces; a center piece is fitted in 
the other mortises. The other deck 
braces slope down from the center piece 
and are placed 6 in. apart. They are 1 
in. square and are mortised into the 
center piece and fastened to the gun¬ 
wales with screws. The main deck 



which should be well soaked in water 
for several hours before bending them 
in shape. These are put in 6 in. apart 
and are fastened to the rib-bands with 
%-in. wood screws. The ribs should be 
put in straight and true to keep them 
from pulling the rib-bands out of shape. 
After the ribs are in place and fastened 
to the rib-bands, gunwales and keelson, 
put on the outwale strips and fasten 
them to the gunwales between every 
rib with 1%-in. screws. 

Before making the deck, a block for 
the mast to rest in must be made and 
fastened to the keelson. This block. 
Fig. 5, is a cube having sides 6 in. 
square and is kept from splitting by an 
iron band tightly fitted around the out¬ 
side. The block is fastened to the keel- 


braces are fastened to the gunwales 
with 4-in. corner braces and to the 
center piece with 2-in. corner braces. 
The mast hole on the deck is made as 
follows: Secure a piece of twine 1 in. 
thick, 6 in. wide and 3 ft. long. Cut 
this in halves and mortise for the cen¬ 
ter piece in the two halves and fasten 
to the gunwales. A block of pine, 4 in. 
thick and 12 in. long, is cut to fit under 
the top boards, Fig. 9, and fastened to 
them with bolts. With an expansive 
bit bore a hole 3 in. in diameter through 
the block. Be sure to get the block and 
hole directly over the block that is 
fastened to the keelson. Put on a coat 
of boiled linseed oil all over the frame 
before proceeding farther. 

Putting on the canvas may be a diffi- 


































































201 


cult piece of work to do, yet if the fol¬ 
lowing simple directions are followed 
out no trouble will be encountered. 
The 11-yd. length of canvas is cut in 
the center, doubled, and a seam made 
joining the two pieces together. Fill 
the seam with thick paint and tack it 
down with copper tacks along the cen¬ 
ter of the keelson. When this is well 
tacked commence stretching and pull¬ 
ing the canvas in the middle of the gun¬ 
wales so as to make it as even and 
tight as possible and work toward each 
end, tacking the canvas as it is 
stretched to the outside of the gunwale. 
Seam the canvas along the stern and 
bow pieces as was done on the keelson. 
The deck is not so hard to do, but be 
careful to get the canvas tight and 
even. A seam should be made along 
the center piece. The trimming is wood, 
% in. thick and % in. wide. A strip 
of this is nailed along the center piece 
over the canvas. The outwales are 
nailed on over the canvas. A piece of 
oak, 1 in. thick iy 2 in. wide and 14 in. 
long, is fastened with screws over the 
canvas on the stern piece; also, a piece 
% in. thick, 1 in. wide and 24 in. long 
is well soaked in water, bent to the 
right shape and fastened over the can¬ 
vas on the bow. 

The rudder is made as shown in Fig. 
10 with a movable handle. A strip 1 
in. thick by 2 in. wide, is bolted to the 
keelson over the canvas for the outer 
keel. The keel, Fig. 11, is 6 in. wide 
at one end and 12 in. at the other, which 
is fastened to the outer keel with bolts 
having thumb nuts. The mast can be 
made of a young spruce tree having a 
diameter of 3 in. at the base with suffi¬ 
cient height to make it 9 ft. long. The 
canoe is driven by a lanteen sail and 
two curtain poles, each 1 in. in diame¬ 
ter and 10 ft. long, are used for the 
boom and gaff, which are held together 
with two pieces of iron bent as shown 
. in Fig. 12. The sail is a triangle, 9% 
by 9% by 8% ft. which is held to the 
boom and gaff by cord lacings run 
through eyelets inserted in the muslin. 
The eyelets are of brass placed 4 in. 
apart in the muslin. The mast has two 
side and one front stay, each fitted with 


a turnbuckle for tightening. A pulley 
is placed at the top and bottom of the 
mast for the lift rope. The sail is held 
to the mast by an iron ring and the lift 
rope at the top of the mast. The boom 
rope is held in the hand and several 
cleats should be placed in the cockpit 
for convenience. A chock is placed at 
the bow for tying up to piers. Several 
coats of good paint complete the boat. 
—Contributed by O. E. Tronnes, Wil¬ 
mette, Ill. 


A Home-Made Hand Vise 


A very useful little hand vise can 
easily be made from a hinge and a 
bolt carrying a wing nut. Get a fast 



joint hinge about 2 in. or more long 
and a bolt about % in. long that will 
fit the holes in the hinge. Put the bolt 
through the middle hole of the hinge 
and replace the nut as shown in the 
drawing. With this device any small 
object may be firmly held by simply 
placing it between the sides of the 
hinge and tightening the nut. 


Proper Design for a Bird House 

This bird house was designed and 
built to make a home for the American 
martin. The house will accommodate 
20 families. All the holes are arranged 
so they will not 
be open to the 
cold winds from 
the north which 
• often kill the 
birds which 
come in the early 
spring. Around 
each opening is 
an extra ring of 
wood to make a 
longer passage which assists the 
martin inside in fighting off the Eng- 



























202 


lish sparrow who tries to drive him 
out. The holes are made oval to al¬ 
low all the little ones to get their heads 
out for fresh air. The long overhang¬ 
ing eaves protect the little birds from 
the hot summer sun. 

The rooms are made up with parti¬ 
tions on the inside so each opening 
will have a room. The inside of the 
rooms should be stained black. 


Boomerangs and How to Make Them 

A boomerang is a weapon invented 
and used by the native Australians, 
who seemed to have the least intelli¬ 
gence of any race of mankind. The 



boomerang is a curved stick of hard¬ 
wood, Fig. 1, about 5/16 in. thick, 2% 
in. wide and 2 ft. long, flat on one side, 
with the ends and the other side round¬ 
ing. One end of the stick is grasped 
in one hand with the convex edge for¬ 
ward and the flat side up and thrown 
upward. After going some distance 
and ascending slowly to a great height 
in the air with a quick rotary motion, 
it suddenly returns in an elliptical orbit 
to a spot near the starting point. If 
thrown down on the ground the boom¬ 
erang rebounds in a straight line, pur¬ 
suing a ricochet motion until the object 
is struck at which it was thrown. 

Two other types of boomerangs are 


illustrated herewith and they can be 
made as described. The materials 
necessary for the T-shaped boomerang 
are: One piece of hard maple 5/16 in. 
thick, 2% in. wide, and 3 ft. long; five 
y 2 - in. flat-headed screws. Cut the 
piece of hard maple into two pieces, 
one liy 2 in. and the other 18 in. long. 
The corners are cut from these pieces 
as shown in Fig. 2, taking care to cut 
exactly the same amount from each 
corner. Bevel both sides of the pieces, 
making the edges very thin so they 
will cut the air better. Find the exact 
center of the long piece and make a 
line 1*4 in. on each side of the center 
and fasten the short length between 
the lines with the screws as shown in 
Fig. 3. The short piece should be 
fastened perfectly square and at right 
angles to the long one. 

The materials necessary for the 
cross-shaped boomerang are one piece 
hard maple 5/16 in. thick, 2 in. wide 
and 30 in. long and five %-in. flat¬ 
headed screws. Cut the maple into 
two 14-in. pieces and plane the edges 
of these pieces so the ends will be 1% 
in. wide, as shown in Fig. 4. Bevel 
these pieces the same as the ones for 
the T-shaped boomerang. The two 
pieces are fastened together as shown 
in Fig. 5. All of the boomerangs when 
completed should be given several 
coats of linseed oil and thoroughly 
dried. This will keep the wood from 
absorbing water and becoming heavy. 
The last two boomerangs are thrown 
in a similar way to the first one, ex¬ 
cept that one of the pieces is grasped 
in the hand and the throw given with 
a quick underhand motion. A little 
practice is all that is necessary for one 
to become skillful in throwing them.— 
Contributed by O. E. Tronnes, Wil¬ 
mette, Ill. 


How to Make Water Wings 

Purchase a piece of unbleached mus¬ 
lin, 1 yd. square. Take this and fold it 
over once, forming a double piece 1 % 
ft. wide and 3 ft. long. Make a double 
stitch' all around the edge, leaving a 
small opening at one corner. Insert 

































203 


a piece of tape at this corner to be used 
for tying around the opening when the 
bag is blown up. The bag is then 
turned inside out, soaked with water 
and blown up. An occasional wetting 


How to Make 

The outside case of this instrument is 
made of wood taken from old cigar 
boxes with the exception of the back. 
If carefully and neatly made, the fin¬ 
ished instrument will be very satis¬ 
factory. The measurements here given 
need not be strictly followed out, but 
can be governed by circumstances. 
The case should first be made and var¬ 
nished and while this is drying, the 
mechanical parts can be put together. 


all over will prevent it from leaking. 
As these wings are very large they will 
prevent the swimmer from sinking.— 
Contributed by W. C. Bliss, St. Louis, 

Mo. 


an Ammeter 

turned into each three-cornered piece. 

The front, which is a piece 5^ in* 
wide and 6% in. long, has a circular 
opening cut near the top through 
which the graduated scale may be 
seen. This front is centered and fast¬ 
ened the same as the backhand the four 
outside edges, as well as the edges 
around the opening, are rounded. The 
whole case can now be cleaned and 
stained with a light mahogany stain, 



The back is a board % in. thick, 6% 
in. wide and 6% in. long. The outer 
edges of this board are chamfered. 
The other parts of the case are made 
from the cigar box wood which should 
be well sandpapered to remove the 
labels. The sides are 3% in. wide and 
5 in. long; the top and bottom, 3^4 in- 
wide and 4% in. long. Glue a three- 
cornered piece, A, Fig. 1, at each end 
on the surface that is to be the in¬ 
side of the top and bottom pieces. 
After the glue is set, fasten the sides to 
the pieces with glue, and take care that 
the pieces are all square. When the 
glue is set, this square box is well 
sandpapered, then centered, and fast¬ 
ened to the back with small screws 


and varnished. Cut another piece of 
board, B, Figs. 2 and 3, to just fit in¬ 
side the case and rest on the ends of 
the three-cornered pieces, A, and glue 
to this board two smaller pieces, C, 3 
in. square, with the grain of the wood 
in alternate directions to prevent warp¬ 
ing. All of these pieces are made of 
the cigar box wood. Another piece, 
D, % in. thick and 3 in. square, is 
placed on the other pieces and a U- 
shaped opening 1% in. wide and 2% 
in. high sawed out from all of the 
pieces as shown. The piece D is at¬ 
tached to the pieces C with four %-in. 
pieces 2% in. long. 

A magnet is made from a soft piece 
of iron, E, about % in* thick, l 1 /^ in. 





































































204 


wide and 2% in. long. Solder across 
each end of the iron a piece of brass 
wire, F, and make a turn in each end 
of the wires, forming an eye for a 
screw. These wires are about 2y 2 in. 
long. Wind three layers of about No. 
14 double cotton-covered copper wire 
on the soft iron and leave about 5 or 
6 in. of each end unwound for connec¬ 
tions. 

The pointer is made as shown in 
Fig. 5 from 1/16-in. brass wire filed to 
make a point at both ends for a spindle. 
About y 2 in. from each end of this wire 
are soldered two smaller brass wires 
which in turn are soldered to a strip 
of light tin *4 in. wide and 2% in. long. 
The lower edge of this tin should be 
about y 2 in. from the spindle. The 
pointer is soldered to the spindle y^ 
in. from one end. All of these parts 
should be brass with the exception of 
the strip of tin. Another strip of tin, 
the same size as the first, is soldered to 
two brass wires as shown in Fig. 4. 
These wires should be about 1 in. long. 

The spindle of the pointer swings 
freely between two bars of brass, G, 
1/16 in. thick, % in, wide and 2% in. 
long. A small hole is countersunk in 
one of the bars to receive one end of 
the spindle and a hole % in. in diameter 
is drilled in the other and a thumb nut 
taken from the binding-post of an old 
battery soldered over the hole so the 
screw will pass through when turned 
into the nut. The end of the screw is 
countersunk to receive the other end 
of the spindle. A lock nut is necessary 
to fasten the screw when proper ad¬ 
justment is secured. A hole is drilled 
in both ends of the bars for screws to 
fasten them in place. The bar with 
the adjusting screw is fastened on the 
back so it can be readily adjusted 
through the hole H, bored in the back. 
The pointer is bent so it will pass 
through the U-shaped cut-out and up 
back of the board B. A brass pin is 
driven in the board B to hold the 
pointer from dropping down too far 
to the left. Place the tin, Fig. 4, so it 
will just clear the tin, Fig. 5, and fasten 
in place. The magnet is next placed 
with the ends of the coil to the back 


and the top just clearing the tin strips. 
Two binding screws are fitted to the 
bottom of the back and connected to 
the extending wires from the coil. 

The instrument is now ready for cal¬ 
ibrating. This is done by connecting 
it in series with another standard am¬ 
meter which has the scale marked in 
known quantities. In this series is 
also connected a variable resistance 
and a battery or some other source of 
current supply. The resistance is now 
adjusted to show .5 ampere on the 
standard ammeter and the position of 
the pointer marked on the scale. 
Change your resistance to all points 
and make the numbers until the entire 
scale is complete. 

When the current flows through the 
coil, the two tinned strips of metal are 
magnetized, and being magnetized by 
the same lines of force they are both 
of the same polarity. Like poles repel 
each other, and as the part Fig. 4 is 
not movable, the part carrying the 
pointer moves away. The stronger the 
current, the greater the magnetism of 
the metal strips, and the farther apart 
they will be forced, showing a greater 
defection of the pointer.—Contributed 
by George Heimroth, Richmond Hill, 


How to Make an Equatorial 

Condensed from article contributed by J. R. Chapman, 
F. R. A. S. Austwick Hall, W. Yorkshire, England 

This star finder can easily be made 
by anyone who can use a few tools as 
the parts are all wood and the only 
lathe work necessary is the turned 
shoulder on the polar axis and this 
could be dressed and sandpapered true 
enough for the purpose. The base is 
a board 5 in. wide and 9 in. long which 
is fitted with an ordinary wood screw 
in each corner for leveling. Two side 
pieces cut with an angle equal to the 
colatitude of the place are nailed to the 
base and on top of them is fastened 
another board on which is marked the 
hour circle as shown. The end of the 
polar axis B, that has the end turned 
with a shoulder, is fitted in a hole bored 
in the center of the hour circle. The 
polar axis B is secured to the board 



205 


with a wooden collar and a pin under¬ 
neath. The upper end of the polar axis 
is fitted with a ^-in. board, C, 5% in. 
in diameter. A thin compass card 
divided into degrees is fitted on the 
edge of this disk for the declination 
circle. 

The hour circle A is half of a sim¬ 
ilar card with the hour marks divided 
into 20 minutes. An index pointer is 
fastened to the base of the polar axis. 
A pointer 12 in. long is fastened with a 
small bolt to the center 6f the declin¬ 
ation circle. A small opening is made 
in the pointer into which an ordinary 
needle is inserted. This needle is ad¬ 
justed to the degree to set the pointer 
in declination and when set, the pointer 
is clamped with the bolt at the center. 
A brass tube having a %-in. hole is 
fastened to the pointer. 

The first thing to do is to get a true 
N and S meridian mark. This can be 
approximately obtained by a good 
compass, and allowance made for the 
magnetic declination at your own 
place. Secure a slab of stone or some 
other solid flat surface, level this and 
have it firmly fixed facing due south 
with a line drawn through the center 
and put the equatorial on the surface 
with XII on the south end of the line. 
Then set the pointer D to the declin¬ 
ation of the object, say Venus at the 
date of observation. You now want 
to know if this planet is east or west of 
your meridian at the time of observa¬ 
tion. The following formula will show 
how this may be found. To find a ce¬ 
lestial object by equatorial: Find the 
planet Venus May 21, 1881, at 9 hr. 10 
min. A. M. Subtract right ascension 
of planet from the time shown by the 
clock, thus: 

hr. min. sec. 

9 hr. 10 min. shows mean siderial... 1 0 0 

Add 12 hrs.12 JO 

13 0 0 

Right ascension of Venus.. 2 10 0 

Set hour circle to before meridian.. 10 50 0 

Again 

hr. min. sec. 

At 1 hr. 30 min. mean clock 
shows . 5 20 0 siderial 

Right ascension of Venus.. 2 10 0 

Set hour circle to. 3 10 0 afternoon 

Books may be found in libraries that 
will give the right ascension and dec¬ 


lination of most of the heavenly bodies. 

The foregoing tables assume that 
you have a clock rated to siderial time, 



but this is not absolutely necessary. If 
you can obtain the planet’s declination 
on the day of observation and ascertain 
when it is due south, all you have to do 
is to set the pointer D by the needle 
point and note whether Venus has 
passed your meridian or not and set 
your hour index. There will be no dif¬ 
ficulty in picking up Venus even in 
bright sunlight when the plant is vis¬ 
ible to the naked eye. 


Electric Light Turned On and Off from 
Different Places 

How nice it would be to have an 
electric light at the turn in a stairway, 
or at the top that could be turned on 
before starting up the stair and on 
reaching the top turned out, and vice 



The Wiring Diagram 
















206 


versa when coming down. The wiring 
diagram as shown in the illustration 
will make this a pleasant reality. This 
wiring may be applied in numerous 
like instances. The electric globe may 
be located at any desired place and the 
two point switches are connected in 
series with the source of current as 
shown in the sketch. The light may be 
turned on or off at either one of the 
switches.—Contributed by Robert W. 
Hall, New Haven, Conn. 


How to Make a Bunsen Cell 

This kind of a cell produces a high 
e. m. f. owing to the low internal resist¬ 
ance. Procure a glass jar such as used 
for a gravity battery, or, if one of these 
cannot be had, get a glazed vessel of 
similar construction. Take a piece of 
kheet zinc large enough so that when 
it is rolled up in the shape of a cylinder 
it will clear the edge of the jar by about 
y 2 i n - Solder a wire or binding-post 
to the edge of the cylinder for a con¬ 
nection. Secure a small unglazed vessel 




to fit inside of the zinc, or such a recep¬ 
tacle as used in a sal ammoniac cell, 
and fill it with a strong solution of 
nitric acid. Fill the outer jar with a 
solution of 16 parts water and 5 parts 
sulphuric acid. The connections are 
made from the zinc and carbon. 


One Way to Cook Fish 

One of the best and easiest ways of 
cooking fish while out camping is told 
by a correspondent of Forest and 
Stream. A fire is built the size for the 
amount of food to be cooked and the 
wood allowed to burn down to a glow¬ 
ing mass of coals and ashes. Wash and 
season your fish well and then wrap 
them up in clean, fresh grass, leaves or 
bark. Then, after scraping away the 
greater part of the coals, put the fish 
among the ashes, cover up with the 
same, and heap the glowing coals on 
top. The fish cooks quickly—15 or 20 
minutes—according to their size. 

If you eat fish or game cooked after 
this fashion you will agree that it can¬ 
not be beaten by any method known to 
camp culinary savants. Clay also an¬ 
swers the purpose of protecting the 
fish or game from the fire if no other 
material is at hand, and for anything 
that requires more time for cooking 
it makes the best covering. Wet paper 
will answer, especially for cooking fish. 

A successful method of hardening 
copper is to add 1 lb. of alum and 4 oz. 
arsenic to every 20 lb. of melted copper 
and stir for 10 minutes. 











































207 


Packing Cut from Felt Hats 

Felt from an old hat makes good 
packing for automobile water-circu¬ 
lating pumps. Strips should be cut 
to fit snugly in the stuffing box. 
When the follower is screwed down, it 
will expand the felt and make a water¬ 
tight joint. 


Homemade Gasoline Engine 

The material used in the construc¬ 
tion of the gasoline engine, as shown 
in the accompanying picture, was 
pieces found in a scrap pile that usually 
occupies a fence corner on almost 
every farm. The cylinder consists of 


tened with a pin, and threaded on both 
ends. Flanges were next made from 
couplings discarded from an old horse¬ 
power tumbling rod, to fit on the 
threaded ends of the cylinder cast¬ 
ing. When these flanges were tightly 
screwed on the casting and faced off 
smooth the whole presented the ap¬ 
pearance of a large spool. 

The back cylinder head was made 
from a piece of cast iron, about % in. 
thick, turned to the same diameter as 
the flanges, and with a small projection 
to fit snugly inside the cylinder bore. 
Two holes were then drilled in this 
head and tapped for %-in. pipe. Two 
pieces of %-in. pipe were fitted to 
these holes so that, when they were 



Complete Homemade Gasoline Engine 


an old pump cylinder, % in. thick, 1% 
in. inside diameter and about 5 in. long. 
This was fastened between some 
wooden blocks which were bolted on 
the tool carriage of a lathe and then 
bored out to a diameter of about 2 in. 
The boring bar, Fig. 1, consisted of an 
old shaft with a hole bored through 
the center and a tool inserted and held 
for each cut by a setscrew. A wood 
mandrel with a metal shaft to turn in 
the centers of a lathe was made to fit 
the bored-out cylinder. The cylinder 
was then placed on the mandrel, fas- 


turned in, a small part of the end of 
each pipe projected on the inside of the 
cylinder head. These pieces of pipe 
serve as valve cages and are reamed 
out on the inside ends to form a valve 
seat. The outlet for the exhaust and 
the inlet for the gas and air are through 
holes drilled in the side of each pipe 
respectively and tapped for %-in. pipe. 
Two heads were then made to fit 
over the outer ends of the valve 
cages. These heads looked similar to 
a thread spool with one flange cut off, 
the remaining flange fitting on the 




208 



Steps in Making the Home-Made Gasoline Engine 


end of the valve cage and the center 
extending down inside to make a long 
guide for the valve stems. These heads 
are held in place by a wrought-iron 
plate and two bolts, one of which is 
plainly shown in the picture. This plate 
also supports the rocker arms, Fig. 2, 
and the guides for the rods that operate 
the valves. Both valves are mechan¬ 
ically operated by one cam attached to 
a shaft running one turn to two of the 
crankshaft. The gears to run this 
shaft were cut from solid pieces on a 
small home-made gear-cutting attach¬ 
ment for the lathe as shown in Fig. 3. 
The gear on the crankshaft has 20 
teeth meshing into a 40-tooth gear on 
the cam shaft. 

The main part of the frame consists 
of a piece of %-in. square iron, 30 in. 
long, bent in the shape of a U, and on 
the outside of this piece is riveted a 
bent piece of sheet metal % in. thick 
and 3 in. wide. The U-shaped iron is 
placed near one edge of the sheet metal. 
Two pieces of 2%-in. angle iron are 
riveted vertically on the ends of the 
U-shaped iron and a plate riveted on 
them to close the open end and to form 
a face on which to attach the cylinder 
with bolts or cap screws. A hole was 
cut through the angle irons and plate 
the same size as the bore of the cylinder 
so the piston could be taken out with¬ 
out removing the cylinder. A 1-in. 
angle iron was riveted to one side of 
the finished frame to make a support 
for the crankshaft bearing. The rough 


frame, Fig. 4, was then finished on an 
emery wheel. This long frame had to 
be made to accommodate the cross¬ 
head which was necessary for such a 
short cylinder. 

The piston and rod were screwed 
together and turned in one operation 
on a lathe. The three rings were made 
from an old cast-iron pulley. The cap 
screws were made from steel pump 
rods. A piece of this rod was centered 
in a lathe and turned so as to shape 
six or more screws, Fig. 5, then re¬ 
moved and the first one threaded and 
cut off, then the second and so on until 
all of them were made into screws. 
The rod was held in a vise for this last 
operation. Studs were made by thread¬ 
ing both ends of a proper length rod. 
Make-and-break ignition is used on the 
engine; however, a jump spark would 
be much better. The flywheel and mix¬ 
ing valve were purchased from a house 
dealing in these parts. The water 
jacket on the cylinder is a sheet of cop¬ 
per formed and soldered in place, and 
brass bands put on to cover the 
soldered joints.—Contributed by Peter 
J. Johnson, Clermont, Iowa. 


If gasoline drips from the carburetor 
when the engine is not running, the 
needle valve connected with the float 
should be investigated. If the dripping 
stops when the valve is pressed down, 
the float is too high. If the valve keeps 
dripping, then it should be ground to 
a fit. 













































209 


A Merry-Go-Round Thriller 


As a home mechanic with a fond¬ 
ness for amusing the children I have 
seen many descriptions of merry-go- 
rounds, but never one which required 
so little material, labor and time, and 
which gave such satis¬ 
factory results, as the 
one illustrated here¬ 
with. It was erected 
in our back yard one 
afternoon, the materi¬ 
als being furnished by 
an accommodating lum¬ 
ber pile, and a little 
junk, and it has pro¬ 
vided unlimited pleas¬ 
ure for “joy-riders,” 
little and big, from all 
over the neighborhood. 

It looks like a toy, but 
once seat yourself in it 
and begin to go around, 
and, no matter what your age or size 
may be, you will have in a minute 
enough thrill and excitement to last the 
balance of the day. 

The illustration largely explains it¬ 
self, but a few dimensions will be a 
help to anyone wishing to construct the 
apparatus. The upright is a 4 by 4-in. 
timber, set 3 ft. in the ground with 8 
ft. extending above. It is braced on 
four sides with pieces 2 in. square and 
2 ft. long, butting against short stakes. 
The upper end of the post is wound 
with a few rounds of wire or an iron 
strap to prevent splitting. The cross¬ 
piece is 2 in. square, 12 ft. long, 
strengthened by a piece 4 in. square 
and 5 ft. long. These two pieces must 
be securely bolted or spiked together. 
A malleable iron bolt, % in. in diameter 
and 15 in. long is the pivot.. On this 
depends the safety of the contrivance, 
so it must be strong enough, and long 
enough to keep firmly in the post. 
Drive this bolt in a %-in. hole bored 
in the post, which will make it a suf¬ 
ficiently tight fit. Make the hole for 
the bolt very loose through the cross¬ 
piece, so that there will be plenty of 
“wobble,” as this is one of the mirth¬ 


making features of the machine. Use 
a heavy washer at the head. The 
seats are regular swing boards, sup¬ 
ported by a stout and serviceable rope. 
A %-in. rope is not too heavy. One 


Swinging on the Merry-Go-Round 

set of ropes are passed through holes 
at the end of the crosspiece and knot¬ 
ted on top. The other set should be 
provided with loops at the top and slid 
over the crosspiece, being held in posi¬ 
tion by spikes as shown. This makes 
an easy adjustment. Seat the heavier 
of the riders on the latter seat, moving 
it toward the center until a balance 
with the lighter rider is reached. A 
rope tied to the crosspiece about 2 ft. 
from the center, for the “motive power” 
to grasp, completes the merry-go- 
round. 

Put plenty, of soap or grease between 
the crosspiece and upright. Be sure to 
have room for the ropes to swing out 
at high speed, with no trees or build¬ 
ings in the way. The “wobble” men¬ 
tioned will give an agreeable undulat¬ 
ing motion, which adds greatly to the 
flying sensation. This will be found 
surprisingly evident for so small a ma¬ 
chine. As there is no bracing, care 
must be taken to have the two riders 
sit at the same moment, or the iron 
bolt will be bent out of line. If it is 
to be used for adults, strong clear ma¬ 
terial only should be employed.;—Con¬ 
tributed by C. W. Nieman. 












210 


How to Make and Fly a Chinese Kite 


The Chinese boy is not satisfied with 
simply holding the end of a kite string 
and running up and down the block or 
field trying to raise a heavy paper kite 
with a half pound of rags for a tail. He 
makes a kite as light as possible with¬ 
out any tail which has the peculiar prop¬ 
erty of being able to move in every di¬ 
rection. Sometimes an expert can make 
one of these kites travel across the 
wind for several hundred feet; in fact, 
I have seen boys a full block apart 
bring their kites together and engage 


18 in. long. This he smears along one 
side with common boiled rice. Boiled 
rice is one of the best adhesives for use 
on paper that can be obtained and the 
Chinese have used it for centuries while 
we are just waking up to the fact that 
it makes fine photo paste. Having 
placed the backbone in position, paste 
two triangular pieces of paper over the 
ends of the stick to prevent tearing. 
The bow is now bent, and the lugs ex¬ 
tending from the sides of the square 
paper are bent over the ends of the bow 



in a combat until one of their kites 
floated away with a broken string, or 
was punctured by the swift dives of 
the other, and sent to earth, a wreck. 

The Chinese boy makes his kite as 
follows: 

From a sheet of thin but tough tis¬ 
sue paper about 20 in. square, which he 
folds and cuts along the dotted line, 
as shown in Fig. 1, he gets a perfectly 
square kite having all the properties of 
a good flyer, light and strong. He 
shapes two pieces of bamboo, one for 
the backbone and one for the bow. 
The backbone is flat, % by 5 % in. and 


and pasted down. If the rice is quite 
dry or mealy it can be smeared on and 
will dry almost immediately, therefore 
no strings are needed to hold the bow 
bent while the paste dries. 

After the sticks are in position the 
kite will appear as shown in Fig. 2. 
The dotted lines show the lugs bent 
over the ends of the bow and pasted 
down. Figure 3 shows how the band 
is put on and how the kite is balanced. 
This is the most important part and 
cannot be explained very well. This 
must be done by experimenting and 
it is enough to say that the kite must 



























211 


balance perfectly. The string is fast¬ 
ened by a slip-knot to the band and 
moved back and forth until the kite 
flies properly, then it is securely fast¬ 
ened. 

A reel is next made. Two ends— 
the bottoms of two small peach baskets 
will do—are fastened to a dowel stick 
or broom handle, if nothing better is 
at hand. These ends are placed about 
14 in. apart and strips nailed between 
them as shown in Fig. 4, and the cen¬ 
ters drawn in and bound with a string. 
The kite string used is generally a 
heavy packing thread. This is run 
through a thin flour or rice paste until 
it is thoroughly coated, then it is run 
through a quantity of crushed glass. 
The glass should be beaten up fine and 
run through a fine sieve to make it 
about the same as No. 2 emery. The 
particles should be extremely sharp and 
full of splinters. These particles ad¬ 
here to the pasted string and when dry 
are so sharp that it cannot be handled 
without scratching the fingers, there¬ 
fore the kite is flown entirely from the 
reel. To wind the string upon the reel, 
all that is necessary is to lay one end 
of the reel stick in the bend of the left 
arm and twirl the other end between 
the fingers of the right hand. 

A Chinese boy will be flying a gaily 
colored little kite from the roof of a 
house (if it be in one of the large cities 
where they have flat-roofed houses) 
and a second boy will appear on the 
roof of another house perhaps 200 ft. 
away. Both have large reels full of 
string, often several hundred yards of 
it. The first hundred feet or so is 
glass-covered string, the balance com¬ 
mon packing thread, or glass-covered 
string. As soon as the second boy 
has his kite aloft, he begins ma¬ 
neuvering to drive it across the wind 
and over to the first kite. First, he 
pays out a large amount of string, then 
as the kite wabbles to one side with 
its nose pointing toward the first kite, 
he tightens his line and commences a 
steady quick pull. If properly done his 
kite crosses over to the other and above, 
it. The string is now payed out until 


the second kite is hanging over the 
first one’s line. The wind now tends 
to take the second kite back to its paral¬ 
lel and in so doing makes a turn about 
the first kite’s string. If the second 
kite is close enough, the first tries to 
spear him by swift dives. The second 
boy in the meantime is see-sawing his 
string and presently the first kite’s 
string is cut and it drifts away. 

It is not considered sport to haul the 
other fellow’s kite down as might be 
done and therefore a very interesting 
battle is often witnessed when the ex¬ 
perts clash their kites.—Contributed by 
S. C. Bunker, Brooklyn, N. Y. 


Home-Made Vise 

An ordinary monkey wrench that has 
been discarded is used in making this 
vise. The wrench is supported by two 
L-shaped pieces of iron fastened with 



A Swivel Bench Vise 


a rivet through the end jaw, and these 
in turn are bolted or screwed to the 
bench. The handle end is held down 
with a staple. The inside jaw is used 
in clamping and is operated with the 
thumb screw of the wrench. Two holes 
bored through the thumb piece will 
greatly facilitate setting up the jaws 
tightly by using a small rod in the 
holes as a lever. 

The vise may be made into a swing 
vise if the wrench is mounted on a 
board which is swung on a bolt at one 
end and held with a pin at the other 
as shown in the illustration. Various 
holes bored in the bench on an arc will 
permit the board to be set at any angle. 
—Contributed by Harry S. Moody, 
Newburyport, Mass. 




























212 


Home-Made Changing Bag for 
Plate Holders 

A good bag for changing plates and 
loading plate holders and one that the 
operator can see well to work in can 



be made by anyone on a sewing ma¬ 
chine. Ten yards of black cambric or 
other black cloth and a little ruby 
fabric will be required. Take the cam¬ 
bric and fold it into 2-yd. lengths (Fig. 
1) which will make five layers of cloth, 
tack or fasten the layers together so 
they will not slip and cut an 8-in. 
square hole in the middle of one half 
(Fig. 2) and sew the ruby fabric over 
the opening. Be sure and make the 
seam light-tight and have enough lay¬ 
ers of ruby fabric so no white light can 
get in. Fold the cloth up so it will be 
1 yd. square (Fig. 3) and sew up the 
edges to make a bag with one side 
open. Put a drawstring in the edge of 
the cloth around the open side and the 
bag is complete ready for use. 

Take the holders and plate boxes in 
the lap and put the bag over the head 
and down around the body, then draw 
the string up tight. A bag made up in 
this manner is for use only for a short 
time. If it is necessary to do consid¬ 
erable work at a time, then a dust pro¬ 
tector, such as mill men use, must be 


attached to a 3-ft. length of 2-in. rub¬ 
ber hose and the hose run through a 
hole in the bag. This will make it 
possible to work in the bag as long as 
you wish.—Contributed by Earl R. 
Hastings, Corinth, Vt. 


Home-Made Asbestos Table Pads 

Asbestos table pads to prevent the 
marring of polished table tops from 
heated dishes can be easily made at 
home much cheaper than they can be 
bought. Procure a sheet of asbestos 
from a plumbing shop and cut it in the 
shape of the top of your table. If the 
table is round, make the pad as shown 
in the illustration, cutting the circular 
piece into quarters. Cut four pieces 
of canton flannel, each the size of half 
the table top. Two of the asbestos 
pieces are used to make one-half of the 
pad. Place the two pieces with their 
edges together so they will form half 
a circle disk and cover both sides with 
a piece of the flannel and pin them in 
place. A binding of white cotton tape 
is then basted around the edges to hold 
all the pieces together until they are 
stitched on a sewing machine. A line 
of machine stitching is made all around 
the outside and through the middle be- 


Pads Made of Asbestos 

tween where the edges of the asbestos 
sheets join together. This will form a 
hinge so the two quarters may be 
folded for putting away. Make the 






































213 


other half circular disk in the same way. 
If leaves are wanted in extending the 
table, any number of pads can be made 
to cover them in the same manner with 
the hinge in the middle of each pad. 
The flannel is used with the nap side 
out so it will make the pad soft and 
noiseless. This kind of a pad furnishes 
perfect protection to the table from any 
heat or moisture.—Contributed by H. 
E. Wharton, Oakland, Calif. 


How to Make a Ladies* Handbag 

To make this bag, get a piece of 
Russian calf modeling leather. A 
shade of brown is the best as it does 
not soil easily and does not require 
coloring, which spoils the leather ef¬ 
fect. 

The dimensions of the full sized bag 
are : from A to B, 17% in.; from C to D, 
16% in.; from E to F, 9% in.; G to H, 
6% in., and E to G, 2% in. 

Enlarge the accompanying pattern 
to the given dimensions, trace this or 
some other appropriate design on it, 
and then cut the leather the size of the 
pattern. 

Use a sponge to dampen the leather 
on the rough side, not so damp that the 
Water will come through to the right 
side when working, but damp enough 
to allow the design to be well impressed 



on the leather. Use a smooth, non¬ 
absorbent surface to lay the leather on 
while at work. 

Now lay the pattern on the right 
side of the leather and with the small¬ 


est end of the leather tool or a sharp, 
hard pencil, trace the design carefully 
on the leather. Moisten the leather as 



often as necessary to keep it sufficiently 
moist to work well. Trace the open¬ 
ings for the handles, also lines A-G, 
H-B, and E-G, G-J, and corresponding 
lines on the other side. 

Remove pattern and trace the design 
directly on leather with the round point 
of tool, until it is made distinct and 
in marked contrast to the rest of the 
leather. Do not make sharp marks but 
round the edges of the lines nicely, 
with the rounded sides of the tools. 

To complete the bag, get something 
with which to make a lining. A piece 
of oozed leather is the most satisfac¬ 
tory. Cut it the same size as the bag, 
place both together and with a leather 
punch, make holes all around the edge 
of the bag about % in. apart. Cut out 
the leather for the handle openings. 
Care should be taken not to cut the 
holes too near the edge of the bag lest 
the lacing pull out. Now cut narrow 
thongs, about % in. wide, and lace 
through the holes, lacing the sides of 
the end pieces in with the sides of the 
bag. Crease the lines A-G and B-H 
inward for ends of bag. 


CThe claw of a hammer can be used 
for removing the insulation on copper 
wire, if not more than 1 in. is taken off 
at a time. 










214 


A Small Electric Motor 


The drawing herewith shows a sim¬ 
ple electric motor which can be easily 
constructed by any boy who is at all 
handy with tools. I made this motor 



many times when a boy and can say 
that if carefully constructed it will run 
with greater rapidity than the more 
expensive ones. 

A common magnet which can be 
purchased at any toy store is used. 
The one shown is 3% in. in length. 
The armature core is a strip of T V by 
i/4-in. iron, 2% in. long, bent U-shaped 
and fastened to the wood flywheel. 
Each leg of the armature is wound 
with 10 ft. of No. 24 gauge magnet 
wire. The commutator is made from 
an old 22 cartridge filed into two equal 
parts, each being a half circle, both of 
which are made fast to a collar on the 
shaft E. Each half of the commutator 
must be insulated from the other half. 
The collar can be made by wrapping 
paper around the shaft until the re¬ 
quired size is obtained. 

The top end of the shaft runs in a 
hole bored in a brass support, B, which 
is screwed on the end of a piece of 
wood mortised in the base, as shown 
in Fig. 1. The lower end of the shaft 
runs in a glass bead, D, which is fast¬ 


ened to a small piece of brass with 
sealing wax. The small brass piece is 
fastened to the base with screws. The 
bead should not have an eye larger in 
diameter than the shaft. The shaft is 
made from an old discarded knitting 
needle. The brushes are fastened to 
each side of the upright piece of wood 
supporting the brass bearing B. 

The connections to the battery are 
shown in Fig. 2. Each half of the com¬ 
mutator C is connected to the coils AA 
as shown in Fig. 1.—Contributed by 
J. M. Shannon, Pasadena, Calif. 


Moving a Coin Under a Glass 

Place a penny or a dime on a table¬ 
cloth, towel or napkin and cover it 
over with a glass in such a way that 
the glass will rest upon two 25 or 50- 
cent pieces as shown in the sketch. 
The coin is made to come forth with¬ 
out touching it or sliding a stick un¬ 
der the edge of the glass. It is only 
necessary to claw the cloth near the 
glass with the nail of the forefinger. 



The cloth will produce a movement 
that will slide the coin to the edge and 
from under the glass. 


GWhen playing loud and harsh records 
on a phonograph the music is often 
spoiled by the vibration of the metal 
horn. This may be remedied by buck¬ 
ling a valise or shawl strap around the 
horn, near the center. 











































215 


How to Make 

Balloons made spherical, or designed 
after the regular aeronaut’s hot-air bal¬ 
loon, are the best kind to make. Those 
having an odd or unusual shape will 
not make good ascensions, and in most 



Fig.I 


Paper Balloon 


Paper Balloons 

gether right, the pointed ends will 
close up the top entirely and the wider 
bottom ends will leave an opening 
about 20 in. in diameter. A light wood 
hoop having the same diameter as the 



Pattern and Parts to Make Balloon 


cases the paper will catch fire from the 
torch and burn before they have flown 
very far. The following description is 
for making a tissue-paper balloon about 
6 ft. high. 

The paper may be selected in several 
colors, and the gores cut from these, 
pasted in alternately, will produce a 
pretty array of colors when the balloon 
is in flight. The shape of a good bal¬ 
loon is shown in Fig. 1. The gores 
for a 6-ft. balloon should be about 8 ft. 
long or about one-third longer than 
the height of the balloon. The widest 
part of each gore is 16 in. The widest 
place should be 53% i n - from the bot¬ 
tom end, or a little over half way from 
the bottom to the top. The bottom of 
the gore is one-third the width of the 
widest point. The dimensions . and 
shape of each gore are shown in Fig. 2. 

The balloon is made up of 13 gores 
pasted together, using about %-in. lap 
on the edges. Any good paste will 
do—one that is made up of flour and 
water well cooked will serve the pur¬ 
pose. If the gores have been put to- 


opening is pasted to the bottom end 
of the gores. Two cross wires are 
fastened to the hoop, as shown in Fig. 
3. These are to hold the wick ball, 
Fig. 4, so it will hang as shown in 
Fig. 5. The wick ball is made by wind¬ 
ing wicking around a wire, having the 
ends bent into hooks as shown. 

The balloon is filled with hot air in 
a manner similar to that used with the 
ordinary cloth balloon. A small trench 
.or fireplace is made of brick having a 
chimney over which the mouth of the 
paper balloon is placed. Use fuel that 
will make heat with very little smoke. 
Hold the balloon so it will not catch 
fire from the flames coming out of the 
chimney. Have some alcohol ready to 
pour on the wick ball, saturating it 
thoroughly. When the balloon is well 
filled carry it away from the fireplace, 
attach the wick ball to the cross wires 
and light it. 

In starting the balloon on its flight, 
take care that it leaves the ground as 
nearly upright as possible.—Contrib¬ 
uted by R. E. Staunton. 


























216 


4 * 


A Simple Steamboat Model 


The small boat shown in the accom¬ 
panying- sketch may have a length of 
12 to 18 in. and is constructed in the 



following manner: A small steam 
boiler, A, is supported by two braces 
over an alcohol lamp in the middle of 
the boat. A small pipe is fastened to 
the top of the boiler in such a way that 
the open end will be opposite the open 


end of another pipe, B, somewhat 
larger in size. The pipe B opens into 
the stern of the boat at C, as shown in 
Fig. 1. The steam, coming through 
the small pipe A, is driven forcibly 
through the larger pipe B, and carries 
with it a certain amount of air out 
through the opening C into the water. 
As the boat is driven forward by this 
force, the steam arises to the surface 
in the form of bubbles. The boat soon 
attains considerable speed, leaving a 
long wake behind. 


To Remove Grease from Machinery 

A good way to remove grease or oil 
from machinery before painting is to 
brush slaked lime and water over the 
surface, leaving the solution on over 
night. After washing, the iron is dried 
and the paint will stick to it readily. 

In removing grease from wood, com¬ 
mon whitewash may be left on for a 
few hours and then washed off with 
warm water, after which the paint will 
adhere permanently. 


A Game Played on the Ice 

Two lines are drawn parallel on the 
ice from 50 to 100 ft. apart and blocks 
of wood are placed every 6 ft. apart on 
these lines. The player 
opening the game 
skates to the line and 
delivers, in bowling 
form, a sliding block 
similar to the blocks 
that are placed on the 
lines with the exception 
that it has a handle. 

The blocks are about 6 
in. wide by 6 in. high 
and 8 in. long. The slid¬ 
ing blocks should be at 
least 1 ft. long and each 
provided with a handle. 

The handle is attached 
by boring a hole near 
one end in the middle 
of the block and driving in a wood pin. 
The hole is bored slanting so as to in¬ 
cline the haindle. Two of these blocks 


are provided for the reason that when 
a player bowls one of the opposing 
player’s blocks over the line he is en¬ 
titled to another throw. The side wins 
that bowls over all of the opposing 


players’ blocks first. This will prove 
an interesting and enjoyable pastime 
for skaters. 


Sliding Block* 



Bowling Over the Opponent’s Blocks 

























217 


Making Photo Silhouette Brass Plaques 


Secure a brass plate having a 
smooth surface the right size for the 
photograph and cover it with a coat 
of paraffin. This is done by heating 
the paraffin*in a vessel hot enough to 
make the wax run freely, then pouring 
the liquid over the entire surface of 
the brass. 

When the paraffin has cooled suffi¬ 
ciently the outlines of the photograph 
must be drawn upon its surface. 
There are three ways of doing this: 
First, the photograph can be traced on 
tissue paper and then retraced on the 
paraffin surface. The exact outlines 
of the photograph can be obtained 
this way without destroying the print. 
Second, if you have several copies of 
the photograph, one can be utilized 
by tracing direct to the surface of the 
paraffin. In using either of the two 
methods described, carbon paper must 
be placed on the paraffin before the tis¬ 
sue paper or photograph is laid upon 
it. Third, cut out the outlines of the 
photograph and lay it on the paraffin 
surface, then trace around the edges 
with the point of a needle or sharp 
point of a knife. The outlines drawn 
by the first method are cut through 
the paraffin in the same way. The 
paraffin is carefully removed from the 
inside of the 
lines, leaving 
the brass sur¬ 
face perfectly 
clean, as 
is shown in 
Fig. 1. 

The exposed 
part of the 
plate is now 
ready to be 
etched or 
eaten away to 
the right 
depth with 
acid. The 
acid solution 
is made up of 1% parts muriatic acid 
and 2 parts water. The mixture should 
be placed in a glass or earthenware 


vessel. If the plate is a small one a 
saucer will do for the acid solution. 
Pour the acid on the plate where the 
paraffin has been removed and allow 
it time to 
etch. The 
acid 
should be 
remo v e d 
every five 
m i n u t es 
to exam- 
i n e the 
etching. If 
any places 
show up 
where the 
p a r a f fin 
has not 
been en¬ 
tirely r e- 
moved they must be cleaned so the 
acid will eat out the metal. When 
the acid solution becomes weak new 
solution must be added until the 
proper depth is secured. Rinse the 
plate in cold water, stand in a tray and 
heat it sufficiently to run off all the 
paraffin. Polish the plate by rubbing 
it with a piece of flannel. 

The plaque can be given a real an¬ 
tique finish by painting the etched 
part with a dull black paint. Drill a 
small hole in each of the four corners, 
being careful not to dent the metal. 
The plaque is backed with a piece of 
wood % in. thick, the dimensions of 
which should exceed those of the brass 
plate sufficiently to harmonize with the 
size of the plaque. The wood should 
be painted black with the same paint 
used in the plaque. Paint the heads of 
four thumb tacks black and use them in 
fastening the plaque to the board. The 
finished silhouette will appear as shown 
in Fig. 2 .—Contributed by John A. 
Hellwig, Albany, N. Y. 


GAutomobile headlights should be set 
to throw the light straight ahead, not 
pointed down at the road at an angle. 



Fig. 1 

Waxed Brass Plate 













218 


Telescope Stand and Holder 


With the ordinary small telescope it 
is very difficult to keep the line of sight 
fixed upon any particular object. To 
meet the situation I constructed the 


Fig. 1 Fig. 2 

Made of a Camera Tripod 

device illustrated herewith. A circular 
piece of wood, B, 6 in. in diameter, is 
fastened to a common camera tripod, 
A, with a set screw, S. Corner irons, 
CC, are screwed to the circular piece. 
These corner irons are also screwed 
to, and supported in a vertical position 
by the wood standard D, which is 4 in. 
wide and of any desired height. To this 
standard is secured the wood shield¬ 
shaped piece E by the screw G upon 
which it turns. A semi-circular slit 
is cut in the piece G, through 'which 
passes the set screw S. The telescope 
is secured to the piece G by means of 
the pipe straps FF. Rubber bands are 
put around the telescope to prevent 
rubbing at the places where the straps 
enclose it. 

The wood pieces were made of %- 
in. mahogany well rubbed with linseed 
oil to give them a finish. The corner 
irons and set screws or bolts with 
thumb-nuts can be purchased at any 
hardware store. The pipe straps of 
different sizes can be obtained from 
a plumber’s or gas and steam fitter’s 
store. With this device, either a ver¬ 
tical or a horizontal motion may be 
secured, and, after bringing the desired 
object into the line of sight, the set 
screws will hold the telescope in posi¬ 
tion. Any one owning a tripod can 


construct this device in three or four 
hours’ time at a trifling cost. In Fig. 1 
is shown the side view of the holder 
and stand, and Fig. 2 the front view. 

It may be of interest to those owning 
telescopes without solar eyepieces to 
know that such an eyepiece can be ob¬ 
tained very cheaply by purchasing a 
pair of colored eyeglasses with very 
dark lenses and metal rims. Break 
off the frame, leaving the metal rims 
and nibs at each end. Place these over 
the eyepiece of the telescope and se¬ 
cure in place with rubber bands looped 
over the nibs and around the barrel 
of the instrument.—Contributed by R. 
A. Paine, Richmond, Va. 


How to Make an Electrical Horn 

Secure an empty syrup or fruit can, 
any kind having a smooth flat bottom 
will do. If the bottom is not perfectly 
flat, it will interfere with the regular 
tone vibrations, and not produce the 
right sound. Remove the label by # 
soaking it in hot water. Take an ordi¬ 
nary electrical bell and remove the 
gong, clip off the striking ball and bend 
the rod at right angles. Cut a block 
of wood % in. thick, 5 in. wide and 
8 in. long for the base. Fasten the 
can on it with a piece of sheet brass or 



tin as shown in the sketch. Mount the 
bell vibrator on the base, using a small 
block of wood to elevate it to the level 
of the center of the can, and solder the 
end of the vibrator rod to the metal. 































219 


Connect two dry cells to the bell vi¬ 
brator, and adjust the contact screw 
until a clear tone is obtained. The rap¬ 
idly moving armature of the bell vi¬ 
brator causes the bottom of the can to 
vibrate with it, thus producing sound 
waves. The pitch of the tone depends 
on the thickness of the bottom of the 
can. This horn, if carefully adjusted 
and using two cells of dry battery, will 
give a soft pleasant tone that can be 
heard a block away. If the two pro¬ 
jecting parts of the vibrator are sawed 
off with a hacksaw, it can be mounted 
on the inside of the can. This will 
make a very compact electric horn, as 
only the can is visible.—Contributed by 
John Sidelmier, La Salle, Ill. 


Driving a Washing Machine with 
Motorcycle Power 

The halftone illus¬ 
tration shows how I 
rigged up my washing 
machine to be driven 
by the power from my 
motorcycle. I made a 
wheel 26 in. in diameter 
of some 1-in. pine 
boards, shrunk an iron 
band on it for a tire, and 
bolted it to the wheel 
on the washing ma¬ 
chine. A long belt the 
same width as the mo¬ 
torcycle belt was used 
to drive the machine. 

The motorcycle was 
lined up and the engine 
started, then the mo¬ 
torcycle belt thrown 
off and the long belt run on, connecting 
the engine and washing machine wheel. 
—I. R. Kidder, Lake Preston, S. D. 


Home-Made Aquarium 

A good aquarium can be made from 
a large-sized street lamp globe and a 
yellow pine block. Usually a lamp 
globe costs less than an aquarium globe 
of the same dimensions. Procure, a 
yellow pine block 3 in. thick and 12 in. 


square. The more uneven and twisted 
the grain the better for the purpose, as 



Lamp Globe as an Aquarium 

it is then less liable to develop a con¬ 
tinuous crack. 

Cut out a depression for the base of 
the globe as shown in Fig. 1. Pour in 
aquarium cement and embed the globe 
in it. Pour more cement inside of the 
globe until the cement is level with 
the top of the block. Finish with a ring 


of cement around the outside and 
sprinkle with fine sand while the ce¬ 
ment is damp. Feet may be added to 
the base if desired. The weight of the 
pine block makes a very solid and sub¬ 
stantial base for the globe and renders 
it less liable to be upset.—Contributed 
by James R. Kane, Doylestown, Pa, 


CNever allow lard oil to harden on a 
lathe. 



Machine Belted to the Motorcycle 



























220 


Frame for Displaying Both Sides of 
Coins 

It is quite important for coin collec¬ 
tors to have some convenient way to 



Fig.2 


Holding Coins between Glasses 

show both sides of coins without touch¬ 
ing or handling them. If the collection 
consists of only a few coins, they can 
be arranged in a frame as shown in Fig. 
1. The frame is made of a heavy card, 
A, Fig. 2, the same thickness as the 
coins, and covered over on each side 
with a piece of glass, B. Holes are cut 
in the card to receive the coins C. The 
frame is placed on bearings so it may 
be turned over to examine both sides. 
If there is a large collection of coins, 
the frame can be made in the same 
manner and used as drawers in a cabi¬ 
net. The drawers can be taken out and 
turned over.—Contributed by C. Purdy, 
Ghent, O. 


How to Make Lantern Slides 

A great many persons who have 
magic lanterns do not use them very 
much, for after the slides have been 
shown a few times, they become unin¬ 
teresting, and buying new ones or even 
making them from photographic nega¬ 
tives is expensive. But by the method 
described in the following paragraph 
any one can make new and interesting 
slides in a few minutes’ time and at a 
very small cost. 

Secure a number of glass plates of 


the size that will fit your lantern and 
clean them on both sides. Dissolve a 
piece of white rosin in a half-pint of 
gasoline and flow it over one side of 
the plates and allow to dry. Place the 
dried plate over a picture you wish to 
reproduce and draw the outline upon 
the thin film. A lead pencil, pen and 
ink or colored crayons can be used, as 
the rosin and gasoline give a surface 
that can be written upon as easily as 
upon paper. When the slide becomes 
uninteresting it can be cleaned with a 
little clear gasoline and used again to 
make another slide. A slide can be made 
in this way in five minutes and an in¬ 
teresting outline picture in even less 
time than that. 

This solution also makes an ideal re¬ 
touching varnish for negatives.—Con¬ 
tributed by J. E. Noble, Toronto, 
Canada. 


How to Make a Developing Box 

A box for developing 314 by 4%-in. 
plates is shown in detail in the accom¬ 
panying sketch. It is made of strips 
of wood thick, cut and grooved, 

and then glued together as indicated. 
If desired, a heavier piece can be placed 
on the bottom. Coat the inside of the 
box with paraffin or wax, melted and 
applied with a brush. Allow it to fill 
all crevices so that the developing box 
will be watertight. It will hold 4 oz. 
of developer. Boxes for larger plates 


i ■+ i 

—jCQ 

\ .j 

■f r 

,_|2_*i 

'4 


li 7 ” 

j! 4 i" ii 


im 

1 j ji ! 
i 

ii! 

' ,9 

I , l| 

II ll 

CO 

1 


Details of the Developing Box 

can be made in the same manner. Use 
a small wooden clip in taking the 
plates out of the box, being careful not 
to scratch the sensitive film.—Contrib¬ 
uted by R. J. Smith, Milwaukee, Wis. 







































221 


Staining Wood 

A very good method of staining 
close-grained woods is to use muriatic 
acid. The acid is put on with a brush 
like any ordinary stain. The colors 
thus obtained are artistic and most 
beautiful, and cannot be duplicated by 
any known pigment. The more coats 
applied the darker the color will be. 
This method of staining has the advan¬ 
tage of requiring no wiping or rubbing. 
—Contributed by August T. Neyer, 
One Cloud, Cal. 


Sheet-Metal Whisk-Broom Holder 

A whisk-broom holder such as is 
shown in the accompanying picture 
may be easily made by the amateur. 
The tools needed are few: a pair of tin 
shears, a metal block of some kind 
upon which to pound when riveting, a 
hammer or mallet, several large nails, 
and a stout board upon which to work 
up the design. A rivet punch is desir¬ 
able, though not absolutely necessary. 

The material required is a sheet of 
No. 24 gauge copper or brass of a size 
equal to that of the proposed holder, 
plus a %-in. border all around, into 
which to place the screws that are to 
be used to hold the metal to the board 
while pounding it. The design shown 
in the picture is 6 by 8 in. at the widest 
part and has proven a satisfactory 
holder for a small broom. 

Carefully work out the design de¬ 
sired on a piece of drawing paper, both 
outline and decoration, avoiding sharp 
curves in the outline because they are 
hard to follow with the shears when 
cutting the metal. If the design is to 
be of two-part symmetry, like the one 
shown, draw one part, then fold on a 
center line and duplicate this by insert¬ 
ing double-surfaced carbon paper and 
tracing the part already drawn. With 
this same carbon paper transfer the 
design to the metal. Fasten the metal 
to the board firmly, using %-in. screws 
placed about 1 in. apart in holes pre¬ 
viously punched in the margin with a 
nail set or nail. 


To flatten the metal preparatory to 
fastening it to the board, place a block 
of wood upon it and pound on this 
block, never upon the metal directly, 



Completed Holder 

Brass Fastened to Board—Method of Riveting 

or the surface will be dented and look 
bad in the finished piece. 

Take the nail, a 10 or 20-penny wire 
or cut, and file it to a chisel edge, 
rounding it just enough to take the 
sharpness off so that it will not cut the 
metal. This tool is used for indenting 
the metal so as to bring out the out¬ 
line of the design on the surface. 

There are several ways of working 
up the design. The simplest way is to 
take the nail and merely “chase” the 
outlines of holder design. Remove 
the screws, cut off the surplus metal, 













































222 


and file the edges until they are 
smooth. Make a paper pattern for the 
metal band that is to hold the broom. 
Trace around this pattern on the metal 
and cut out the shape. Punch rivet 
holes in holder and band, also a hole 
by which to hang the whole upon the 
wall. 

Rivet the band to the holder. Punch 
the rivet holes with a nail set and make 
the holes considerably larger than the 
diameter of the rivet, for in flattening 
the raised edges the holes will close. 
Do the riveting on a metal block and 
keep the head of the rivet on the back 


of the holder. Round up the “upset” 
end of the riveted part as shown in the 
picture. Do not bend it over or flatten 
it. This rounding is done by pounding 
around the outer edge of the rivet end 
and not flat upon the top as in driving 
a nail. 

Clean the metal by scrubbing it off 
with a solution composed of one-half 
water and one-half nitric acid. Use a 
rag tied to a stick and do not allow the 
acid to touch either your hands or 
clothes. A metal lacquer may next be 
applied to keep the metal from early 
corrosion. 


How to Make a Camp Stool 

The stool, as shown in Fig. 1, is 
made of beech or any suitable wood 



with a canvas or carpet top. Provide 
four lengths for the legs, each 1 in. 
square and 18% in. long; two lengths, 
1% in. square and 11 in. long, for the 
top, and two lengths, % in. square, one 
8% and the other 10% in. long, for 
the lower rails. 

The legs are shaped at the ends to 
fit into a %-in. hole bored in the top 
pieces as shown in Fig. 2, the distance 
between the centers of the holes being 
7% in. in one piece and 9% in. in the 
other. The lower rails are fitted in the 
same way, using a %-in. hole bored 
into each leg 2% in. up from the lower 
end. 

Each pair of legs has a joint for 
folding and this joint is made by bor¬ 
ing a hole in the middle of each leg, 
inserting a bolt and riveting it over 
washers with a washer placed be¬ 
tween the legs as shown in Fig. 3. The 


entire length of each part is rounded 
off for the sake of neatness as well as 
lightness. 

About % yd. of 11-in. wide material 
will be required for the seat and each 
end of this is nailed securely on the 
under side of the top pieces. The 
woodwork may be stained and var¬ 
nished or plain varnished and the cloth 
may be made to have a pleasing effect 
by stencilling in some neat pattern. 

A Small Home-Made Electric Motor 

The accompanying photographs 
show the construction of a very unique 
electric motor, the parts consisting of 
the frame from an old bicycle pedal 
wrapped with insulated wire to make 
the armature and three permanent 
magnets taken from an old telephone 
magneto. The pedal, being ball bear¬ 
ing, rotated with very little friction 
and at a surprisingly high rate of speed. 



The Motor Complete 


The dust cap on the end of the pedal 
was removed and a battery connection, 
having quite a length of threads, was 












223 


soldered to it as shown in the photo¬ 
graph. The flanges were removed 
from an ordinary spool and two strips 
of brass fastened on its circumference 
for the commutator. The spool was 
held in position by a small binding 



Commutator Parts 


post nut. The shape of this nut made 
a good pulley for a cord belt.—Con¬ 
tributed by John Shahan, Attalla, Ala. 


Rocker Blocks on Coaster Sleds 

The accompanying sketch shows a 
coasting sled with rocker blocks at¬ 
tached on both front and rear runners. 
The runners and the other parts of the 
sled are made in the usual way, but in¬ 
stead of fastening the rear runners 
solid to the top board and the front 
runners to turn on a solid plane fifth 
wheel, they are pivoted so each pair of 
runners will rock when going over 
bumps. 

The illustration will explain this 
construction without going into detail 
and giving dimensions for a certain 
size, as these rocker blocks can be at¬ 
tached to any coaster or toboggan 
sled. It will be noticed that the top 
board may bend as much as it will 
under the load without causing the 
front ends of the rear runners and the 


How to Make a Watch Fob 

This novelty watch fob is made from 
felt, using class, college or lodge colors 
combined in the making with emblems 
or initials colored on the texture. Two 
pieces of felt, each 1*4 in. 
wide and 4*4 in. long, are 
cut*V-shaped on one end 
of each piece about 1 in. 
in depth, and % in. in 
from the other end of one 
piece cut a slit % in. long; 
the end of the other piece 
is folded over, making a 
lap of about 1 in., and a 
slit is cut through the 
double thickness to match 
the one cut in the first 
piece. The desired em¬ 
blem, initial, or pennant is 
stenciled on the outside of 
the folded piece with class, 
college or lodge colors. 

The strap is made from a 
strip of felt 3-16 in. wide 
and 814 in. long; stitched 
on both edges for appearance. Make 
a hole with a punch 114 in. from one 
end, and two holes in the other, one 
about 1 in. and the other 2 % in. from 
the end. Purchase a 14-in. buckle 
from a harness maker and you will 
have all the parts necessary for the fob. 
Assemble as shown in the sketch. The 
end of the strap having the two holes 
is put through the slots cut in the wide 
pieces and the tongue of the buckle is 
run through both holes. The other end 
is passed through the ring of the watch 
and fastened in the buckle as in an 
ordinary belt.—Contributed by C. D. 
Luther, Ironwood, Mich. 





rear ends of the front runners gouging A good lubricant for drilling is made 
into the snow or ice.—Contributed by by dissolving % to 1 lb. of sal-soda in 
W. F. Quackenbush, New York City, one pailful of water. 



































224 


New Way to Remove a Bottle Stopper 

Take a bottle of liquid, something 
that is carbonated, and with the aid of 
a napkin form a pad which is applied 



Removing the Stopper 


to the lower end of the bottle. Strike 
hard with repeated blows against the 
solid surface of a wall, as shown in the 
sketch, and the cork will be driven out, 
sometimes with so much force that a 
part of the liquid comes with it and 
deluges the spectators, if desired by 
the operator. 


Imitation Fancy Wings on Hinges 

The accompanying sketch shows 
how I overcame the hardware troubles 
when I was not able to find ready-made 
hinges in antique design for a mission 
sideboard and buffet. This method al¬ 
lows a wide range of designs, which 



can be made at home with ordinary 
tools. The wings are made of copper 
or brass and finished in repousse, or can 


be tarnished and the high places bur¬ 
nished with 000 sandpaper or steel wool, 
then lacquered with white shellac or 
banana bronzing liquid.—Contributed 
by John H. Schatz, Indianapolis, Ind. 


How to Make a Child’s Rolling Toy 

Secure a tin can, or a pasteboard box, 
about 2 in. in diameter and 2 in. or 
more in height. Punch two holes A, 
Fig. 1, in the cover and the bottom, % 
in. from the center and opposite each 
other. Then cut a curved line from one 
hole to the other, as shown at B. A 
piece of lead, which can be procured 
from a plumber, is cut in the shape 
shown in Fig. 2 , the size being 1 by 1 % 
by 1 % in. An ordinary rubber band is 
secured around the neck of the piece of 



Rolling Can Toy 


lead, as shown in Fig. 3, allowing the 
two ends to be free. The pieces of tin 
between the holes A, Fig. 1, on both 
top and bottom, are turned up as in 
Fig. 4, and the ends of the bands looped 
over them. The flaps are then turned 
down on the band and the can parts 
put together as in Fig. 5. The can may 
be decorated with brilliant colored 
stripes, made of paper strips pasted on 
the tin. When the can is rolled away 
from you, it winds up the rubber band, 
thus storing the propelling power 
which makes it return.—Contributed 
by Mack Wilson, Columbus, O. 












































225 


How to Make a Portfolio 

Secure a piece of Russian modeling 
calf leather of a size equal to 12 by 
16 in. Make a paper pattern of the 
size indicated in the accompanying 
drawing, putting in the 
design. 

The necessary tools 
consist of a stick with 
a straight edge and a 
tool with an end shaped 
like that of a nutpick. 

A nutpick with a V- 
shaped point will do if 
the sharpness is 
smoothed off by means 
of a piece of emery 
paper, so that it will 
indent without cutting 
the leather. These 
tools can be bought 
for this special purpose, 
but are not essential 
for this piece if the nut¬ 
pick is at hand. There 
will also be needed 
a level, non-absorbent surface upon 
which to lay the leather while working 
it. A piece of thick glass, metal, or 
marble will serve. 

Begin work by moistening the 
leather on the back side with a sponge 
or cloth. Moisten as much as you dare 
and still not have the moisture show 
on the face side. Next place the 
leather on the glass, face up, and, hold¬ 
ing the pattern firmly in place so that 
it will not slip—if possible get some 
one to hold the pattern for you—place 
the straight edge on the straight lines 
and mark out or indent. After this has 
been done, mark over the design. A 
pencil may be used the first time over. 

The pattern is now to be removed 
and all the lines gone over with the 
tool to make them deep and uniform. 

The surplus stock around the edges 
may not be cut off. A neat way to 
finish the edges is to punch a series of 
holes entirely around through which a 
thin leather thong may be laced. If 
it is desired to “line” the inside, this 
should be done before the holes are 
punched or the lacing done. 


Gear for Model Work 

When a gear is needed to drive a 
small pinion and there is none of the 
right size at hand, one can be made in 
the following manner: Turn up a wood 


disk to the proper diameter and % in. 
thicker than the pinion, and cut a flat 
bottom groove in. deep in its face. 
The edges should be about % in. or 
more thick on each side. Measure the 
distance between centers of two adja¬ 
cent teeth in the pinion and step this 
off around the periphery in the bottom 
of the groove. Drill holes into the 
wood on each point stepped off and in¬ 
sert steel pins made of wire, allowing 

1 

0 

0 

- Fig. I 

Steel Pins in Wood 

the end of each to protrude just far 
enough to act as a tooth. In this way 
a good gear for light work can be 
quickly and cheaply constructed.—Con¬ 
tributed by Henry Schaefer, New York 
City. 










































226 


A Home-Made Vise 

While making a box I had some 
dovetailing to do, and as there was no 



vise on the bench I rigged up a sub¬ 
stitute. I secured a board % in. thick, 
3 in. wide and 20 in. long and bored a 
%-in. hole through it, 1 in. from each 
end. The board was then attached to 
the bench with two screws passing 
through washers and the two holes in 
the board into the bench top. The 
screws should be of a length suitable 
to take in the piece to be worked.— 
Contributed by A. M. Rice, Syracuse, 
New York. 


Cardboard Spiral Turned by Heat 

A novel attraction for a window dis¬ 
play can be made from a piece of stiff 
cardboard cut in a spiral as shown in 
Fig. 1. The cardboard should be about 
7 or 8 in. in diameter. Tie a piece of 
string to the center point of the spiral 




Spiral Cut from Cardboard 

and fasten it so as to hang over a gas 
jet, Fig. 2. A small swivel must be 
put in the string at the top or near the 
cardboard, if it is desired to have the 


spiral run for any length of time. The 
cardboard will spin around rapidly and 
present quite an attraction.—Contribu¬ 
ted by Harry Szerlip, Brooklyn, N. Y. 


A Workbench for the Amateur 

The accompanying detail drawing 
shows a design of a portable work¬ 
bench suitable for the amateur wood¬ 
worker. This bench can be made 
easily by anyone who has a few sharp 
tools and a little spare time. If the 
stock is purchased from the mill ready 
planed and cut to length, much of the 
hard labor will be saved. Birch or 
maple wood makes a very good bench, 
and the following pieces should be or¬ 
dered : 

4 legs, 3 by 3 by 36. 

2 side rails, 3 by 3 by 62^4 in. 

2 end rails, 3 by 3 by 20 in. 

1 back board, 1 by 9 by 80 in. 

1 top board, 2 by 12 by 77 in. 

1 top board, 1 by 12 by 77 in. 

2 crosspieces, iy 2 by 3 by 24 in. 

1 piece for clamp, l l / 2 by by 12 in. 

1 piece for clamp, iy 2 by 6j4 by 14 in. 

4 guides, 2 by 2 by 18 in. 

1 screw block, 3 by 3 by 6 in. 

1 piece, iy by 4 y 2 by 10 y 2 in. 

Make the lower frame first. Cut 
tenons on the rails and mortise the 
posts, then fasten them securely to¬ 
gether with % by 5-in. lag screws as 
shown. Also fasten the 1% by 3 by 
24-in. pieces to the tops of the posts 
with screws. The heads should be 
countersunk or else holes bored in the 
top boards to fit over them. Fasten 
the front top board to the crosspieces 
by lag screws through from the under 
side. The screws can be put in from 
the top for the 1-in. thick top board. 

Fasten the end pieces on with screws, 
countersinking the heads of the vise 
end. Cut the 2-in. square holes in the 
1% by 4i/ 2 by 10-in. pieces for the vise 
slides, and fit it in place for the side 
vise. Also cut square holes in the one 
end piece for the end vise slides as 
shown. Now fit up the two clamps. 
Fasten the slides to the front pieces 
with screws. Countersink the heads of 
the screws so they will not be in the 
way of the hands when the vise is used. 
The two clamp screws should be about 
1% in. in diameter. They can be pur¬ 
chased at a hardware store. A block 



















. 227 


should be fitted under the crosspiece the better grade of tools should be 
to hold the nut for the end vise. After purchased as they are the cheapest in 



you have the slides fitted, put them in 
place and bore the holes for the clamp 
screws. 

The back board can now be fastened 
to the back with screws as shown in 
the top view. The bench is now com¬ 
plete, except for a couple of coats of 
oil which should be applied to give it 
a finish and preserve 
the wood. The ama¬ 
teur workman, as well 
as the patternmaker, 
will find this a very 
handy and serviceable 
bench for his workshop. 

As the amateur work¬ 
man does not always 
know just what tools he 
will need, a list is given 
which will answer for 
a general class of work. 

This list can be added 
to as the workman be¬ 
comes more proficient 
in his line and has need 
for other tools. Only 


the long run. If each tool is kept in 
a certain place, it can be easily found 
when wanted. 

1 bench plane or jointer; 1 jack plane or smoother; 
1 cross cut saw, 24 in.; 1 rip saw, 24 m.; 1 claw ham¬ 
mer ; 1 set gimlets; 1 brace and set of bits; 2 screw¬ 
drivers, 3 and 6 in.; 1 countersink; 1 compass saw; 
1 set chisels; 1 wood scraper; 1 monkey wrench; 1 
2-ft. rule; 1 marking gauge; 1 pair pliers; 1 nail set; 
1 pair dividers; 1 pocket level; 1 6-in. try square; 
1 oilstone; No. 1, 2 and 00 sandpaper. 



Workbench Complete 





















































































































228 


Repairing a Worn Knife Blade 

When the blade of a favorite pocket 
knife, after constant use, becomes like 
A, Fig. 1, it is more dangerous than 



The Blade Is Cut Down 

useful. To cut down the already worn 
blade would leave only a stump, but 
if the blade is fastened in a vise and 
the point B filed off until it is like C, 
Fig. 2, the projecting point A, Fig. 1, 
will sink into the handle as shown at 
D, Fig. 3, and the knife will be given 
a new lease of usefulness.—Contributed 
by James M. Kane, Doylestown, Pa. 


How to Make a Leather Spectacle Case 

The spectacle case shown in the 
accompanying illustration may be 
made of either calf or cow skin. The 
calf skin, being softer, will be easier to 
work, but will not make as rigid a case 
as the cow skin. If calf skin is to be 
used, secure a piece of modeling calf. 
The extreme width of the case is 2% 
in. and the length 6% in. Two pieces 
will be required of this size. Put on 
the design before the two parts are 
sewed together. First draw the design 
on paper, then prepare the leather. 
Place the leather on a small non-ab¬ 
sorbent surface, such as copper or 


brass, and moisten the back side with 
as much water as it will take and still 
not show on the face side. Turn the 
leather, lay the design on the face, and 
hold it in place while both the outline 
and decoration are traced on the sur¬ 
face with a pencil or some tool that will 
make a sharp line without tearing the 
paper. 

After the outlines are traced, go over 
the indentations a second time so as 
to make them sharp and distinct. 
There are special modeling tools that 
can be purchased for this purpose, but 
a V-shaped nut pick, if smoothed with 
emery paper so that it will not cut the 
leather, will do just as well. 

Take a stippling tool—if no such tool 
is at hand, a cup-pointed nail set will 
do—and stamp the background. It is 
intended that the full design shall be 
placed on the back and the same design 
placed on the front as far as the ma¬ 
terial will allow. Be careful in stamp¬ 
ing not to pound so hard as to cut the 
leather. A little rubbing on the point 
with emery will take off the sharpness 
always found on a new tool. 

Having prepared the two sides, they 
may be placed together and sewed 
around the edges. 

If cow hide is preferred, the same 



method of treatment is used, but a form 
will need to be made and placed inside 
the case while the leather is drying to 
give it the right shape. The form can 
be made of a stick of wood. 












































229 


Waterproofing a Wall 

The best way to make a tinted wall 
waterproof is to first use a material 
composed of cement properly tinted 
and with no glue in it—one that will 
not require a glue size on the wall. 
After this coating of cement is applied 
directly to the plaster, cover it com¬ 
pletely with water enamel and, when 
dry, give the surface a thorough coat¬ 
ing of varnish. This will make a per¬ 
fectly impervious covering, which 
steam, water or heat will not affect.— 
Contributed by Julia A. White, New 
York City. 


Polishing Flat Surfaces 

The work of finishing a number of 
brass castings with flat sides was ac¬ 
complished on an ordi¬ 
nary polishing wheel, 
from which the first 
few layers of cloth 
were removed 
and replaced 
with emery 
cloth. The emery 
surface of the cloth was 
placed outward and 
trimmed to the same 
diameter as the wheel. 
This made a sanding 
and polishing wheel in one.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Chester L. Cobb, Portland, 
Maine. 




EMERY CLOTH 


Rubber Tip for Chair Legs 

An inexpensive method of prevent- 
g a chair from scratching the floor 
is to bore a hole of the 
proper size in the bot¬ 
tom end of each chair 

leg and then procure 

four rubber stoppers of 
uniform size and press 
them into place. 

This cushion of rub- 
b e r eliminates vibra¬ 

tions, and they will not slip nor mar 
the finest surface upon which they rest. 
—Contributed by W. A. Jaquythe, 

Richmond, Cal. 



Adjusting a Plumb-Bob Line 

When plumbing a piece of work, if 
there is no help at hand to hold the 
overhead line, it is common 
practice to fasten the plumb 
line to a nail or other suit¬ 
able projection. 

On coming 
down to the 
lower floor it is 
often found that 
the bob has been 
secured either 
too high or too low. When 
fastening the line give it plenty 
of slack and when the lower 
floor is reached make a double 
loop in the line, as shown in the 
sketch. Tightening up on the parts 
A A will bind the loop bight B, and an 
adjustable friction-held loop, C, will be 
had for adjusting the bob accurately 
either up or down.—Contributed by 
Chas. Herrman, New York City. 



Drier for Footwear 

A drier for footwear can be readily 
made by a tinner, or anyone that can 
shape tin and solder. The drier con¬ 
sists of a pipe of 
sufficient length 
to enter the long¬ 
est boot leg. Its 
top is bent at 
right angles and 
the other end is 
riveted to a base, 
an inverted stew- 
pan, for instance, 
in whose bottom a few perforations 
have been made to let air in. The boot 
or stocking to be dried is placed over 
the pipe and the whole set on a heated 
surface. The heat will cause a rapid 
circulation of air which will dry the 
article quickly.—Contributed by Wm. 
Roberts, Cambridge, Mass. 



GA very satisfactory repair can be 
made by using a good photographic 
paste to fasten a torn window shade to 
its roller. 














































230 


A Shot Scoop 


In the ammunition department of 
our hardware store the shot was kept 
in regular square bins and dished out 



with a round-bottom scoop. This was 
very difficult, especially when the bot¬ 
tom of the bin was nearly reached, as 
the round scoop would roll over them 
and only pick up a few at a time. To 
overcome this difficulty I constructed 
a square-shaped scoop that gave entire 
satisfaction. The scoop can be used 
for other purposes as well. 

A thick piece of tin, 6% by 9% in., 
was marked out as shown, the pattern 
being cut on the full lines and bent on 
the dotted ones. The strip for the 
handle was riveted to the end of 
the scoop.—Contributed by Geo. B. 
Wright, Middletown, Conn. 


appear. If any traces of the grease are 
left, apply powdered calcined magnesia. 
Bone, well calcined and powdered, and 
plaster of Paris are also excellent ab¬ 
sorbents of grease. 

A beautifully bound book, and quite 
new, had oil from a lamp spilled over 
it. There was no quicklime to be had, 
so some bones were quickly calcined, 
pulverized and applied. The next 
morning there was no trace of oil, but 
only an odor which soon vanished.— 
Contributed by Paul Keller, Indian¬ 
apolis, Ind. 


Tightening Cane in Furniture 

Split cane, used as part of furniture, 
such as chair seats, often becomes 
loose and the threads of cane pull out. 
This can be prevented by sponging 
with hot water, or by applying'steam- 
ing cloths to the cane. This process 
also tightens the shreds of cane and 
does not injure ordinary furniture. If 
the article is highly polished, care 
should be taken to prevent the hot 
water from coming in contact with any¬ 
thing but the cane. 


Cleaner for a Stovepipe 

A long horizontal pipe for a stove 
soon fills with soot and must be 
cleaned. The usual method is to beat 
the pipe after taking it down to be 
cleaned, but a much better device for 
the purpose is shown in the sketch. 

A scrub brush is procured and cut in 
two, the parts being hinged to a cross¬ 
piece fastened to a long broom handle. 
The brushes are pressed outward 


Removing Grease Stains from the 
Leaves of a Book 

Happening to get a grease spot on a 
page of a valuable book, I found a way 
to remove it without injury to the 
paper, which has been tried out 
several times with success. 

Heat an iron and hold it as near as 
possible to the stain without discolor¬ 
ing the paper, and the grease will dis¬ 



against the inside surfaces of the pipe 
with a wire and spring, as shown.— 
Contributed by C. L. Herbert, Chicago, 
Illinois. 





















Mounting Photo Prints on Glass 


231 


adjusted to the proper height by %- 
in. set and thumbscrews. The block 


Photograph prints can be mounted 
on glass with an adhesive made by 
soaking 1 oz. of sheet gelatine in cold 
water to saturation, then dissolving in 
31/2 oz. of boiling water. Let the solu¬ 
tion cool to about 110 deg. F., then im¬ 
merse the print in it and squeegee, face 
down, on a clear piece of glass. When 
dry, take a damp cloth or soft sponge 
and wipe off any surplus gelatine on 
the glass. 


Dropping Coins in a Glass Full of 
Water 

Take a glass and fill it to the brim 
with water, taking care that the sur¬ 
face of the water is raised a little above 
the edge of the glass, but not running 
over. Place a 
number of nick¬ 
els or dimes on 
the table near 
the glass and ask 
your spectators 
how many coins 
can be put into 
the water with¬ 
out making it 
overflow. No 
doubt the reply 
will be that the 
water will run 
over before two 
coins are dropped in. But it is possi¬ 
ble to put in ten or twelve of them. 
With a great deal of care the coins may 
be made to fall without disturbing the 
water, the surface of which will be¬ 
come more and more convex before 
the water overflows. 



Hollow-Grinding Ice Skates 

The accompanying sketch illustrates 
a practical method of clamping ice 
skates to hold them for grinding, the 
small arc of a circle so much desired. 

The U-shaped clamps are made of 
3/i-in. soft steel with the opening 6 in. 
deep and 5 in. high and are bolted to 
a block of wood, 2 in. thick, 6 in. wide 
and 12 in. long. The skate runner is 



of wood holding the clamp and skate 
can be pushed along on the emery- 
wheel table in front of the revolving 
wheel. 

If properly adjusted, a slight con¬ 
cave or hollow can be made full length 
of the runner, true and uniform, which 
will hold on the ice sideways and not 
retard the forward movement.—Con¬ 
tributed by Geo. A. Howe, Tarrytown, 
New York. 


How to Make a Bicycle Coasting Sled 

The accompanying drawing and 
sketch illustrate a new type of coasting 
sled built on the bicycle principle. This 
coaster is simple and easy to make, 
says Scientific American. It is con¬ 
structed of a good quality of pine. The 
pieces marked S are single, and should 
be about 1 by 1% in.; the pieces 



marked D are double or in duplicate, 
and should be % by 1% in. The run- 























232 



ners are shod with iron and are pivoted 
to the uprights as shown, double pieces 
being secured to the uprights to make 
a fork. The seat is a board, to the un¬ 
derside of which is a block, which 
drops down between the two top slats 
and is secured with a pin. A footrest 
is provided consisting of a short cross¬ 
piece secured to the front of the frame 
and resting on the two lower slats. 
The frame and front fork are hinged 
together with four short eyebolts, E, 
with a short bolt through each pair as 
shown. 


Spelling Names with Photo Letters 

There are, no doubt, many amateur 
photographers who make only occa¬ 
sional trips afield or through the more 
traveled thoroughfares with their cam¬ 


eras during the winter months. Each 
one is generally interested in working 
up the negatives that he or she made 
during the summer or on that last va¬ 
cation into souvenir post cards, albums 
and the like, for sending to friends. Il¬ 
lustrated herewith is something differ¬ 
ent from the album or photographic 
calendar. The letters forming part of 
the word POPULAR are good exam¬ 
ples of this work. 

The masks which outline the letters 
are cut from the black paper in which 
plates come packed. Their size de¬ 
pends on the plate used. A sharp knife, 
a smooth board and a straightedge are 
all the tools needed, says Camera Craft. 
If the letters are all cut the same 
height, they will look remarkably uni¬ 
form, even if one is not skilled in the 
work of forming them all in accord¬ 
ance with the rules. Be sure to have 
the prints a little larger than the let¬ 
ters to insure a sufficient margin in 
trimming, so as to have a white margin 
around the finished letters. The best 
method is to use a good pair of scissors 
or a sharp knife. 

Many combinations can be made of 
these letter pictures to spell out the 
recipient's name or the season’s greet¬ 
ing. During the holidays the letters 
may be made from winter scenes to 
spell “A Merry Christmas” or “A Hap¬ 
py New Year.” An Easter greeting 
may have more springlike subjects and 
a birthday remembrance a fitting- 
month. The prints are no more dif¬ 
ficult to make than the ordinary kind. 
In cutting out an O, for example, do 
not forget to cut out a piece to corre¬ 
spond to the center. This piece can be 






233 


placed on the printing paper after the 
outline mask has been laid down, using 
care to get it in the right position, and 
closing the frame carefully so that the 
small piece will not be disturbed. The 
letters should be of the kind to give as 
large an area of surface to have as 
much of the picture show as possible. 
What the printer calls black face let¬ 
ters are the most suitable. 

By cutting the letters out of black 
paper in a solid form, and using these 
as a mask for a second printing after 
printing the full size of the negatives, 
these letter pictures can be made with 
a black border. So made, they can be 
trimmed to a uniform black line all 
around; and, mounted on a white card 
and photographed down to post card 
size, the greeting so spelled out makes 
a most unique souvenir. Another ap¬ 
plication of the letters in copying is to 
paste them on a white card as before, 
trim the card even with the bottoms of 
the letters, stand the strip of card on a 
mirror laid flat on a table, and then 
photograph both the letters and their 
reflections so as to nicely fill a post 
card. Still another suggestion is to cut 
out the letters, after pasting the prints 
on some thin card, and then arrange 
them in the desired order to spell out 
the name or greeting, but with flowers 
interspersed and forming a back¬ 
ground, photographing them down to 
the desired size. A third means of se¬ 
curing a novel effect by photographing 
down an arrangement of the letters is 
to have them cut out in stiff form as in 
the last method; mount them on short 
pieces of corks, in turn fastened to a 
white card forming the background. 
So arranged, the letters will stand out 
from the card about % in* If they are 
now placed in a light falling from the 
side and slightly in front, each letter 
will cast a shadow upon the. back¬ 
ground, and in the finished print the 
letters will look as if suspended in the 
air in front of the surface of the card. 


A piece of sheet lead put on each 
side of a screw will fill up and hold the 
threads in a too large hole. 


A Checker Board Puzzle 

Place eight checker men upon the 
checker board as shown in the first row 
in the sketch. The puzzle is to get 



Placing the Checkers 


them in four piles of two men each 
without omitting to jump over two 
checker men every time a move is 
made. 

The first move is to jump 5 over 4 
and 3 on 2 which is shown in the 
second row, then jump 3 over 4 and 6 
on 7 and the positions will appear as 
shown in the third row; jump 1 over 2 
and 5 on 4 to get the men placed like 
the fourth row and the last move is to 
jump 8 over 3 and 7 on 6 which will 
make the four piles of two men each as 
shown in the fifth row.—Contributed 
by I. G. Bayley, Cape May Point, N. J. 


A Home-Made Rabbit Trap 

A good serviceable rabbit trap can be 
made by sinking a common dry goods 
box in the ground to within 6 in. of its 
top. A hole 6 or 7 in. square is cut in 
each end level with the earth’s sur¬ 
face and boxes 18 in. long that will 
just fit are set in, hung on pivots, with 
the longest end outside, so they will 
lie horizontal. A rabbit may now look 
through the two tubes, says the Ameri¬ 
can Thresherman. The bait is hung 
on a string from the top of the large 












234 


box so that it may be seen and smelled 
from the outside. The rabbit naturally 
goes into the holes and in this trap 



there is nothing to awaken his suspi¬ 
cion. He smells the bait, squeezes 
along past the center of the tube, when 
it tilts down and the game is shot into 
the pit, the tube righting itself at once 
for another catch. The top and sides 
of the large box may be covered with 
‘leaves, snow or anything to hide it. 
A door placed in the top will enable 
the trapper to take out the animals. By 
placing a little hay or other food in the 
bottom of the box the trap need not be 
visited oftener than once a week. 


Old-Time Magic 

Changing a Button into a Coin 

Place a button in the palm of the left 
hand, then place a coin between the 
second and third fingers of the right 
hand. Keep the right hand faced down 
and the left hand faced up, so as to 
conceal the coin and expose the button. 
With a quick motion bring the left 
hand under the right, stop quick and 



the button will go up the right-hand 
coat sleeve. Press the hands together, 


allowing the coin to drop into the left 
hand, then expose again, or rub the 
hands a little before doing so, saying 
that you are rubbing a button into a 
coin.—Contributed by L. E. Parker, 
Pocatello, Idaho. 

Buttonhole Trick 

This trick is performed with a small 
stick having a loop attached that is too 
small for the stick to pass through. 
Spread out the 
string and place it 
each side of the 
buttonhole, then 
draw the cloth 
around the hole 
through the 
string until it is 
far enough to pass 
the stick through 
the hole. Pull 
back the cloth and 
you have the 
string looped in 
the hole with a hitch the same as if the 
stick had been passed through the 
string. 

The stick may be removed by pulling 
up the loop as if you were passing the 
stick through it, putting the stick in 
the hole and leaving the string on the 
outside, then spread the string, pulling 
up the cloth and passing the stick 
through the hole as before.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Charles Graham, Pawtucket, 
Rhode Island. 




How to Remove Paper 
from Stamps 

Old stamps as they are purchased 
usually have a part of the envelope 
from which they are taken sticking to 
them and in removing this paper many 
valuable stamps are torn or ruined. 
Place all the stamps that are stuck to 
pieces of envelopes in hot water and 
in a short time they can be separated 
without injury. Dry the stamps be¬ 
tween two white blotters. Stamps re¬ 
moved in this way will have a much 
better appearance when placed in an 
album.—Contributed by L. Szerlip, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 


















235 


Imitation Arms and Armor 


PART I 


Genuine antique swords and armor, 
as used by the knights and soldiers in 
the days of old, are very expensive and 
at the present time practically impos¬ 
sible to obtain. The accompanying 
illustration shows four designs of 
swords that anyone can make, and if 
carefully made, they will look very 
much like the genuine article. 

The drawings are so plain that the 
amateur armorer should 
have very little difficul¬ 
ty, if any, in building up 
his work from the illus¬ 
trations, whether he re¬ 
quires a single sword 
only, or a complete suit 
of armor, full size. 

The pieces or designs 
in this article are from 
authentic sources, says 
the English Mechanic, 
so that where names are 
given the amateur can 
so label them, and will 
thereby greatly add to 
their interest and value. 

An executioner s’ 
sword of the fifteenth 
century is shown in Fig. 

1. The blade should be 
about 27 in. long with a 
handle of sufficient 
length to be grasped by 
both hands. The width of the blade 
near the handle is about 2% in., taper¬ 
ing down to 11/2 i n - near the point end. 
Several ridges are cut around the 
handle to permit a firm grip. The 
cross guard is flat and about 1 in. in 
width. 

Mark out the shape and size of the 
blade on a piece of wood % in. thick, 
using a straightedge and a pencil, and 
allowing a few inches more in length 
on which to fasten the handle. Cut out 
the wood with a scroll saw or a key¬ 
hole saw, trim the edges down thin 
and smooth both surfaces with fine 
sandpaper. The end for the handle is 
cut about 1 in, wide and 2 In. long. The 
cross guard is cut out and a hole made 


v 

Fig. 1 


in the center through which to pass the 
handle end of the blade. The handle 
is next made, and if the amateur does 
not possess a lathe on which to turn the 
shape of the handle, the ridges around 
the wood may be imitated by gluing 
and tacking on pieces of small rope. 
The handle is then mortised to receive 
the 1 by 2-in. end of the blade. The 
cross guard is now glued and placed 




Fig. 2 


Fig. 3 


Fig. 4 


on the blade, then the hole in the 
handle is well glued with glue that is 
not too thick and quite hot. The blade 
with the cross guard is inserted in the 
handle and allowed to set. When the 
glue is thoroughly dry, remove the sur¬ 
plus with a sharp knife and paint the 
handle with brown, dark red, or green 
oil paint. The blade is covered with 
tinfoil to give it the appearance of 
steel. Secure some pieces of tinfoil 
and cut one strip x /2 in. wider than the 
blade and the other % in- narrower. 
Quickly paint the blade well with thin 
glue on one side, then lay evenly and 
press on the narrow strip of tinfoil. 
Glue the other side 6i the blade, put on 
the wider strip of tinfoil and glue the 


* 















236 


overlapping edge and press it around 
and on the surface of the narrow strip. 
The cross guard must be covered with 
tinfoil in the same manner as the blade. 
When the whole is quite dry, wipe the 
blade with light strokes up and down 
several times, using a soft and dry 
piece of cloth. The sword is then ready 
to hang in its chosen place as a deco¬ 
ration, not for use only in cases of 
tableaux, for which this article will be 
especially useful to those who are ar¬ 
ranging living pictures wherein swords 
and armor are part of the parapher¬ 
nalia. 

A Chinese scimitar is shown in Fig. 
2. The handle of this sword is oval 
and covered with plaited cord. In 
making this scimitar, follow the direc¬ 
tions as for Fig. 1, except that the 
handle has to be covered with a round 
black cord. If it is found difficult to 
plait the cord on the handle as in the 
illustration, wind it around in a contin¬ 
uous line closely together, and finish 
by fastening with a little glue and a 
small tack driven through the cord into 
the handle. The pommel is a circular 


piece of wood, % in. thick and 5 in. in 
diameter. The length of the handle, 
allowing for a good hold with both 
hands, should be about 9 in., the length 
of the blade 28 in., the width near the 
pommel 1% in. and 3 in. in the widest 
part at the lower end. The sharp or 
cutting edge is only on the short side, 
the other is flat or half-round. 

A Turkish sabre of ancient manufac¬ 
ture from Constantinople is shown in 
Fig. 3. The handle is painted a dull 
creamy white in imitation of ivory. 
The enamel paint sold in small tins will 
answer well for this purpose. The 
cross guard and blade are covered as 
described in Fig. 1. The sharp edge is 
on the longer curved side, the other is 
flat or half-round. 

A two-handed sword used in the 14th 
and 15th centuries is shown in Fig. 4. 
This sword is about 68 in. long, has a 
cross guard and blade of steel with a 
round wood handle painted black. The 
ball or pommel on top of the handle is 
steel. Both edges of the blade are 
sharp. This sword is made in wood the 
same as described for Fig. 1. 


A Dovetail Joint Puzzle 

A simple but very ingenious example 
in joinery is illustrated. In the fin¬ 
ished piece, Fig. 1, the dovetail appears 
on each side of the square stick of 



How the joint Is Cut 


wood, the illustration, of course, shows 
only two sides, the other two are identi¬ 
cal. The joint is separable and each 
part is solid and of one piece. In mak¬ 
ing, take two pieces of wood, prefer¬ 
ably of contrasting colors, such as 
cherry and walnut or mahogany and 
boxwood, about iy 2 in. square and of 
any length desired. Cut the dovetail 
on one end of each stick as shown in 
Fig. 2, drive together and then plane 
off the triangular corners marked A. 
The end of each piece after the dove¬ 
tails are cut appear as shown in Fig. 3, 
the lines marking the path of the dove¬ 
tail through the stick. 


Pure rain water is the best to use in 
a cooling system of an automobile en¬ 
gine, as it is free from the mineral sub¬ 
stances which are deposited in the ra¬ 
diator, piping and jackets by hard 
water. 













237 


Springboard for Swimmers 


A good springboard adds much to 
the fun of swimming. The boards are 
generally made so that the plank will 
bend, being dressed down thin at one 
end and fastened. The thinness of the 
plank, or an insecure fas¬ 
tening, causes many a 
plank to snap in two or 
come loose from its fas¬ 
tenings in a short time. 

The accompanying 
sketch shows the method 
of constructing a spring¬ 
board that does not depend 
upon the bending of the 
wood for its spring. It is 
made of a plank, 2 in. thick 
and from 14 to 16 ft. long, 
one end of which is secured 
with a hinge arrangement 
having a U-shaped rod 
whose ends are held with 
nuts. On each edge of the 
board, at the lower end, are 
fastened two pieces of 
strap iron, each about 1 ft. 
long and with the lower 
ends drilled to fit the hori¬ 
zontal of the U-shaped rod. 

Secure a pair of light buggy springs 
from a discarded rig and attach them 


to the ends of a square bar of iron hav¬ 
ing a length equal to the width of the 
plank. Fasten this to the plank with 
bolts, as shown in the sketch. Should 
the springs be too high they can be 



Buggy Springs Used beneath the Board 


moved forward.—Contributed by John 
Blake, Franklin, Mass. 


Taking Button from a Child’s Nostril 

A three-year-old child snuffed a but¬ 
ton up its nostril and the mother, in an 
attempt to remove it, had caused the 
button to be pushed farther up the 
channel. Doctors probed for the but¬ 
ton without success. The distracted 
mother happened to think of snuff, 
and, as there was some at hand, took 
a pinch of snuff between the thumb 
and forefinger and held it close to the 
child’s nose. The violent sneezing 
caused the button to be blown out. 
Such an accident may come under the 
observation of any parent, and if so, 
this method can be used to relieve the 
child when medical assistance is not 
at hand.—Contributed by Katharine D. 
Morse, Syracuse, N. Y. 


Brass Frame in Repousse 

Punches can be purchased, as can 
the pitch bed or block. Both can be 
made easily, however. Several punches 
of different sizes and shapes will be 
needed. A piece of mild steel, about 
% in. square, can be easily worked into 
tools shaped as desired. A cold chisel 
will be needed to cut the metal to 
length; a file to reduce the ends to 
shape, and a piece of emery paper to 
smooth and polish the end of the tool 
so that it will not scar the metal. 

A small metal box must be secured 
to hold the pitch. The illustration 
shows an iron receptacle. The pitch 
is prepared by heating the following- 
materials in these proportions: pitch, 
5 lb.; plaster of Paris, 5 lb.; tallow, y 2 


















238 



lb. To put it in another way, use pitch 
and plaster in equal parts with 1/10 
part tallow. See that the pitch and 
plaster are dry so that the moisture 
will not cause the pitch to boil over. 
Keep stirring the mass so that it never 
boils. Melt the pitch first and add the 
plaster by degrees. 

For a piece of repousse such as the 
frame shown, secure a piece of brass 
of about No. 18 gauge. With carbon 
paper trace the design on the brass. 
Place the metal on the pitch bed and 
work over the outline of the design. 
Use the chisel-edged tool and try to 

■ ..nil... H E* - — • 



make the lines continuous. When this 
has been done, heat the pitch slightly 


and place the metal, design down, on 
the pitch, and with the raising punches 
work up the shape as desired after the 
pitch has hardened. When the desired 
form has been obtained, turn the metal 
over and “touch up” any places im¬ 
properly raised. The metal will proba¬ 
bly be warped somewhat. To remedy 
this, place a board on the metal and 
pound until the metal assumes a flat 
shape again. Next drill a hole in the 
center waste and saw out for the open¬ 
ing, using a small metal saw. Trim up 
the edges and file them smooth. 

Clean the metal thoroughly, using 
powdered pumice with lye. Cotton bat¬ 
ting fastened to the end of a stick will 
make a good brush. Upon the cleansed 
metal put a lacquer to prevent tarnish¬ 
ing. Metal clips may be soldered to 
the back to hold the picture in place 
and also a metal strip to hold the frame 
upright. These should be placed be¬ 
fore the metal is lacquered. 


Finding the Horsepower of 
Small Motors 

A small motor often excites curi¬ 
osity as to its true horsepower, or frac¬ 
tion of a horsepower. Guesses in this 
direction vary remarkably for the same 
motor or engine. It is comparatively 
easy to determine the horsepower put 
out by almost any machine by the fol¬ 
lowing method which is intended for 
small battery motors and small steam 
engines. 

Before giving the description, it 
may be well to know what horsepower 
means. Horsepower is the rate of 
work and a unit is equal to 33,000 ft. 
lb. per minute, or 550 ft. lb. per second. 
That is lifting 33,000 lb. 1 ft. in one 
minute or 550 lb. 1 ft. in one second. 
This may be applied to the problem of 
finding the horsepower of a motor by 
fastening a piece of twine about 25 
ft. long to the shaft of the engine or 
motor to be tested in such a way that 
when the shaft revolves it will wind 
up the string similar to a windlass. 
Place the motor in such a position 
that the twine will hang freely without 
touching anything; out of a high win- 














239 


dow will do. Fasten a weight to the 
other end of the line as heavy as the 
motor or engine can lift and still run. 
It must weigh enough to slow the 
power down a little, but not to stop it. 
Mark the position of the weight and 
start the motor, at the same time ac¬ 
curately measuring time in minutes 
and seconds it takes to lift the weight 
from the lowest point to the highest. 
Next measure accurately the distance 
in feet covered by the weight in its 
ascent and obtain the correct weight 
in pounds of the weight. 

Multiply the weight by the distance 
covered and divide the result by the 
number of minutes or fraction of a 
minute obtained and divide this last 
result by 33,000 and the quotient will 
be the horsepower of the motor or 
engine. 

Perhaps an illustration will make 
this solution much plainer. Suppose 
the motor will lift a weight of 1 lb. and 
still revolve, 30 ft. in 10 seconds or 1/6 
of a minute. Multiplying 1 by 30 we get 
30, which divided by 1/6 gives 180. 
This in turn divided by 33,000 equals 
in round numbers 1/200 part of a 
horsepower.—Contributed by Harold 
H. Cutter. 


Illusion for Window Attraction 

Gold fish and canary birds, living to¬ 
gether in what seems like one recepta¬ 
cle, make an unusual show window 
attraction. Secure two glass vessels 
having straight sides of the same 
height, one 18 in. in diameter (Fig. 1) 
and the other 12 in. in diameter (Fig. 
2). The smaller is placed within the 
larger, the bottoms being covered with 
moss and aquarium decorations which 
can be purchased at a bird store. Fill 
the 3-in. space between the vessels with 
water. Cut a piece of galvanized screen 
into circular form to cover the larger 
vessel, and hang a bird swing, A, Fig. 
3, in the center. Place the screen on 
top of the vessels so that the swing 
will hang in the center of the inner ves¬ 
sel. A weight—a box filled with sand 
will do—should be placed on top of the 
screen, over the smaller vessel, to keep 


it from floating. Moss should be put 
over the top of the screen so that the 
two separate vessels can not be seen. 



(C_ ^ 

jii_1 






Fig. 3 Fig. 4 

Birds and Fish Apparently Together 


Place the birds in the inner vessel and 
the fish in the water. The effect is 
surprising. To complete the effect and 
aid the illusion the vessels can be set 
in a box lined with black velvet, or on 
a pedestal.—Contributed by J. F. 
Campbell, Somerville, Mass. 


Cleaner for White Shoes 

Finely ground whiting mixed with 
water to the consistency of paste 
makes a very good coating for white 
shoes. A brush can be used in apply¬ 
ing the mixture which will dry in a few 
minutes. It is best to mix only as 
much paste as required for immediate 
use.—Contributed by L. Szerlip, 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 


CBelt laces should never cross on the 
side next to the pulley as they will cut 
themselves in two. 
















































































240 


How to Make a Candlestick Holder 

A candlestick of very simple con¬ 
struction and design can be made as 
follows: Secure a piece of brass or 



Candle Holder Complete 

copper of No. 23 gauge of a size suf¬ 
ficient to make the pieces detailed in 
the accompanying sketch. A riveting 
hammer and a pair of pliers will be 
needed, also a pair of tin shears and a 
piece of metal upon which to rivet. 

Cut out a piece of metal for the base 
to a size of 5% by 5% in. Trim the 
sharp corners off slightly. Draw a 
pencil line all around the margin and 
% in. away from the edge. With the 
pliers shape the sides as shown in the 
illustration. 

Next lay out the holding cup accord¬ 
ing to the plan of development shown, 
and cut out the shape with 
the shears. Polish both of 
these pieces, using any of 
the common metal polishes. 

Rivet the cup to the base, 
and then, with the pliers, 
shape the sides as shown 
in the photograph. The 
manner of making and fas¬ 
tening the handle is clearly 
illustrated. Use a file to 
smooth all the cut edges so 
that they will not injure 
the hands. 

In riveting, care should be taken to 
round up the heads of the rivets nicely 
as a good mechanic would. Do not be 
content merely to bend them over. 
This rounding is easily accomplished 
by striking around.the rivets’ outer cir¬ 
cumference, keeping the center high. 

A good lacquer should be applied 
after the parts have been properly 
cleaned and polished, to keep the metal 
from tarnishing. 


A Home-Made Duplicator 

The usual gelatine pad, which is the 
principal part of the average hecto¬ 
graph or duplicator, is, as a rule, un¬ 
satisfactory, as it is apt to sour and 
mold in the summer and freeze in the 
winter, which, with other defects, often 
render it useless after a few months 
service. 

A compound that is almost inde¬ 
structible is the preparation sold at art 
stores as modeling clay. This clay is 
as easily worked as a putty and is 
spread into the tray, which may be of 
wood or tin, and the surface leveled by 
pounding with a mallet or hammer, 
then by drawing a straightedge over it. 

The surface of the pad is now sat¬ 
urated with pure glycerine. This is 
poured upon the surface after it is 
slightly warmed, covering the same 
and then laying a cloth over the pad 
and allowing it to stand long enough 
for the clay to absorb the glycerine, 
after which it is ready for use. 

The original copy is written with a 
copying pencil or typewritten through 
a hectograph ribbon. A sheet of 
newspaper is laid upon the pad and a 
round stick or pencil is passed over it 



to make the surface level and smooth. 
Remove the newspaper and place the 
original copy face down on the leveled 
surface and smooth it out in the same 
way so that every part touches the 
pad. Remove the copy in about five 
minutes and place the clean sheets of 
paper one after another on the surface 
and remove them. From 50 to 7o 
copies of the original can be made in 
a short time. 






















241 


This compound is impervious to 
water, so the negative print is removed 
by simply washing with a damp 
sponge, the same as removing writing 
from a slate. This makes it possible 
to place another original on the pad 
immediately without waiting for the 
ink to vanish by chemical action as in 
the original hectograph. 

The action of the weather has no 
effect upon this compound and it is 
proof against accident, for the tray 
may be dropped and the pad dented 
or cut into pieces, and the clay can be 
pressed back and leveled. The only 
caution is to keep it covered with a 
cloth saturated in glycerine while not 
in use.—Contributed by A. A. Hough¬ 
ton, Northville, Mich. 


Paper-Clip Bookmark 

The combination of a paper clip and 
a calling card makes a good book- 

m a r k. 
The clip 
and card 
can be 
kept to¬ 
gether by 
pier cing 
the card 
and bend¬ 
ing the 
ends of 
the wire to stick through the holes. 
The clip is attached to a page as shown 
in the sketch.—Contributed by Thos. 
DeLoof, Grand Rapids, Mich. 


Aerating Water in a Small Tank 

A simple way of producing air pres¬ 
sure sufficient to aerate water is by the 
use of a siphon as shown in Fig. 1. 
The siphon is made of glass tubes, the 
longer pieces being bent on one end as 
shown. The air receiver and regulat¬ 
ing device are attached to the top end 
of the lower tube, as shown in Fig. 2. 
The receiver or air inlet is the most 
important part. It is made of a glass 


tube, % in. in diameter and 5 in. long. 
A hole is filed or blown through one 
side of the glass for the admission of 
air. The ends of the smaller glass 




Forcing Air Through Water 

tubes are passed through corks having 
a diameter to fit the ends of this larger 
tube. The ends of these tubes should 
be so adjusted that the continuous 
drops of water from the upper will 
fall into the tube below. The succes¬ 
sion of air bubbles thus imprisoned are 
driven down the tube and into the tank 
below. 

The regulator is placed in the tube 
or siphon above the air receiver. Its 
purpose is to retard the flow of water 
from the siphon above and make it 
drop rapidly. It consists of a rubber 
connecting tube with two flat pieces of 
wood clamped over the center and ad¬ 
justed with screws. The apparatus is 
started by clamping the rubber tube 
tightly and then exhausting the air in 
the siphon tube, then placing the end 
in the upper reservoir and releasing 
the clamp until the water begins to 
drop. If the reservoir is kept filled 
from the tank, the device will work for 
an indefinite time.—Contributed by 
John T. Dunlop, Shettleston, Scotland. 




















































242 


Imitation Arms and Armor—Part II 


Imitation swords, stilettos and battle- 
axes, put up as ornaments, will look 
well if they are arranged on a shield 
which is hung high up on a wall 
of a room or hall, says the English 



Mechanic, London. The following de¬ 
scribed arms are authentic designs of 
the original articles. A German sword 
of the fifteenth century is shown in 
Fig. 1. This sword is 4 ft. long with 
the crossguard and blade of steel. The 
imitation sword is made of wood and 
covered with tinfoil to produce the steel 
color. The shape of the sword is 
marked out on a piece of wood that is 
about Yg in. thick with the aid of a 
straightedge and pencil, allowing a 
little extra length on which to fasten 
the handle. Cut the sword out with a 
saw and make both edges thin like a 
knife blade and smooth up with sand¬ 
paper. The extra length for the handle 
is cut about 1 in. in width and 2 in. 
long. The handle is next carved and a 
mortise cut in one end to receive the 
handle end of the blade. As the handle 
is to represent copper, the ornamenta¬ 
tions can be built up of wire, string, 
small rope and round-headed nails, the 
whole finally having a thin coat of glue 
worked over it with a stiff bristle brush 
and finished with bronze paint. 

The crossbar is flat and about 1 in. 


in width. Cut this out of a piece of 
wood and make a center hole to fit over 
the extra length on the blade, glue and 
put it in place. Fill the hole in the 
handle with glue and put it on the 
blade. When the glue is thoroughly 
dry, remove all the surplus with a sharp 
knife. Sheets of tinfoil are secured for 
covering the blade. Cut two strips of 
tinfoil, one about Y 2 in. wider than the 
blade and the other Yk in- narrower. 
Quickly cover one side of the blade 
with a thin coat of glue and evenly lay 
on and press down the narrow strip of 
tinfoil. Stick the wider strip on the 
other side in the same way, allowing 
equal margin of tinfoil to overlap the 
edges of the blade. Glue the overlap¬ 
ping edges and press them around on 
the surface of the narrow strip. The 
crossguard must be covered in the same 
manner as the blade. When the whole 
is quite dry, wipe the blade up and 
down several times with light strokes 
using a soft rag. 

The sword shown in Fig. 2 is a 
two-handed Swiss sword about 4 ft. in 
length, sharp on both edges with a 
handle of dark wood around which is 
wound spirally a heavy piece of brass 
or copper wire and held in place with 
round-headed brass nails. The blade 
and crossbar are in imitation steel. The 
projecting ornament in the center of 
the crossguard may be cut from heavy 
pasteboard and bent into shape, then 
glued on the blade as shown. 

In Fig. 3 is shown a claymore, or 
Scottish sword of the fifteenth century. 
This sword is about 4 ft. long and has 
a wood handle bound closely around 
with heavy cord. The crossbar and 
blade are steel, with both edges sharp. 
A German poniard is shown in Fig. 4. 
This weapon is about 1 ft. long, very 
broad, with 'wire or string bound 
handle, sharp edges on both sides. An¬ 
other poniard of the fourteenth century 
is shown in Fig. 5. This weapon is also 
about 1 ft. long with wood handle and 
steel embossed blade. A sixteenth 
century German poniard is shown in 
Fig. 6. The blade and ornamental 














243 


crossbar is of steel, with both edges of 
the blade sharp. The handle is of wood. 
A German stiletto, sometimes called 
cuirass breakers, is shown in Fig. 7. 
This stiletto has a wood handle, steel 
crossbar and blade of steel with both 
edges sharp. 

In Fig. 8 is shown a short-handled 
flail, which is about 2% ft. long with 
a dark handle of wood, studded with 
brass or steel nails. A steel band is 
placed around the handle near the top. 
The imitation of the steel band is made 
by gluing a piece of tinfoil on a strip 
of cardboard and tacking it to the 
handle. A large screweye is screwed 
into the top of the handle. The spiked 
ball may be made of wood or clay. 
Cover the ball with some pieces of 
linen, firmly glued on. When dry, paint 
it a dark brown or black. A large 
screweye must be inserted in this ball, 
the same as used on the end of the 
handle, and both eyes connected with 
a small piece of rope twisted into shape. 
The rope is finished by covering with 
tinfoil. Some short and heavy spike¬ 
headed nails are driven into the ball to 
give it the appearance shown in the 
illustration. 

A Russian knout is shown in Fig. 9. 
The lower half of the handle is of wood, 
the upper part iron or steel, which can 
be imitated by covering a piece of wood 
that is properly shaped with tinfoil. 
The whole handle can be made of wood 
in one piece, the lower part painted 
black and the upper part covered with 
tinfoil. A screweye is screwed into the 
upper end. A length of real iron or 
steel chain is used to connect the handle 
with the ball. The ball is made as de¬ 
scribed in Fig. 8. The spikes in the 
ball are about 1 in. in length. These 
must be cut from pieces of wood, leav¬ 
ing a small peg at the end and in the 
center about the size of a No. 20 spike. 
The pegs are glued and inserted into 
holes drilled into the ball. 

In Fig. 10 is shown a Sclavonic 
horseman’s battle-axe which has a 
handle of wood painted dark gray or 
light brown; the axe is of steel. The 
blade is cut from a piece of ^4-in. wood 
with a keyhole saw. The round part is 


made thin and sharp on the edge. The 
thick hammer side of the axe is built 
up to the necessary thickness to cover 



the handle by gluing on pieces of wood 
the same thickness as used for the 
blade, and gradually shaping off to the 
middle of the axe by the use of a chisel, 
finishing with sandpaper and covering 
with tinfoil. Three large, round-headed 
brass or iron nails fixed into the front 
side of the handle will complete the axe. 

At the beginning of the sixteenth 
century horseman’s battle-axes shaped 
as shown in Fig. 11 were used. Both 
handle and axe are of steel. This axe 
is made similar to the one described 
in Fig. 10. When the woodwork is 
finished the handle and axe are covered 
with tinfoil. 


How to Make a Round Belt Without 
Ends 

A very good belt may be made by 
laying several strands of strong cord, 
such as braided fishline, together as 
shown in Fig. 1 and wrapping them as 



Method of Forming the Belt 


shown in Fig. 2. When wrapped all 
the way around, the ends are tied and 
cut off. This will make a very good 
flexible belt; will pull where other belts 








244 


slip, and as the tension members are 
all protected from wear, will last until 
the wrapping member is worn through 
without being weakened.—Contributed 
by E. W. Davis, Chicago. 


Old-Time Magic 

The Growing Flower 

This trick is performed with a wide¬ 
mouthed jar which is about 10 in. high. 
If an earthern jar of this kind is not at 
hand, use a glass fruit jar and cover it 
with black cloth or paper, so the con¬ 



tents cannot be seen. Two pieces of 
wire are bent as shown in Fig. 1 and 
put together as in Fig. 2. These wires 
are put in the jar, about one-third the 
way down from the top, with the circle 
centrally located. The wires can be 
held in place by carefully bending the 
ends, or using small wedges of wood. 

Cut a wire shorter in length than 
the height of the jar and tie a rose or 
several flowers on one end. Put a cork 
in the bottom of the jar and stick the 
opposite end of the wire from where 
the flowers are tied through the circle 
of the two wires and into the cork. The 
dotted lines in Fig. 3 show the position 
of the wires and flowers. 

To make the flowers grow in an in¬ 
stant, pour water into the jar at one 
side of the wide mouth. The cork will 
float and carry the wire with the flowers 


attached upward, causing the flowers 
to grow, apparently, in a few seconds’ 
time. Do not pour in too much water 
to raise the flowers so far that the wire 
will be seen.—Contributed by A. S. 
Macdonald, Oakland, Calif. 

Water and Wine Trick 

This is an interesting trick based on 
the chemical properties of acids and 
alkalies. The materials needed are: 
One glass pitcher, filled with water, four 
glass tumblers, an acid, an alkali and 
some phenolphthalein solution which 
can be obtained from your local drug¬ 
gist. Before the performance, add a 
few drops of the phenolphthalein to the 
water in the pitcher and rub a small 
quantity of the alkali solution on the 
sides of two of the tumblers and repeat, 
only using as large a quantity of the 
acid as will escape notice on the re¬ 
maining tumblers. Set the tumblers so 
you will know which is which and pro¬ 
ceed as follows: Take hold of a pre¬ 
pared tumbler with the left hand and 
pourfrom the pitcher, held in the right 
hand, some of the liquid. The liquid 
turned into the glass will become red 
like wine. Set this full tumbler aside 
and take the pitcher in the left hand 
and pour some of the liquid in one of 
the tumblers containing the acid as it 
is held in the right hand. There will 
be no change in color. Repeat both 
parts in the same order then begin 
to pour the liquids contained in the 
tumblers back into the pitcher in the 
order reversed and the excess of acid 
will neutralize the alkali and cause it 
to lose its color and in the end the 
pitcher will contain a colorless liquid. 
—Contributed by Kenneth Weeks, 
Bridgeton, N. J. 


The life of iron shingle nails is about 
6 years. An iron nail cannot be used 
again in putting on a new roof. Solid 
zinc nails last forever and can be used 
as often as necessary. As zinc is much 
lighter than iron, the cost of zinc nails 
is only about 2% times that of iron 
nails. 











245 


Cutting Lantern Slide Masks 


It has long been a puzzle to me why 
round cornered masks are almost in¬ 
variably used for lantern slides, when 
most works of art are included within 
rectangu- 
lar spaces, says 
a correspond¬ 
ent of Photo 
Era. Certainly 
the present 
c o m m e r- 
cial masks are 
in very poor 
taste. The 
worker who 
wishes to make 
the most of 
every slide will 
do well to cut 
his own masks, 
not only be¬ 
cause of the 
fact just men¬ 
tioned, but also 
because he can 
suit the size of 
the opening to 
the require- 
ments of each 
slide. Slides 
can be works of art just as much as 
prints; so that masking a slide be¬ 
comes just as important as trimming 
a print, and equally worthy of individ¬ 
ual treatment. It is folly to give each 
slide a mask opening of uniform size 
and shape. 

When many slides are to be masked, 
it becomes tedious work to treat each 
one separately, unless some special de¬ 
vice is used. The accompanying draw¬ 
ing shows a way to mark masks which 
is simple, practical and costs nothing. 
The drawing is exactly lantern slide 
size. 

Lay the slide over such a guide 
and note the size of the opening best 
suited to the picture. This will be de¬ 
termined by the intersection of the 
ruled lines, which are numbered for 
convenience in working. If the size 
wanted is No. 4 for width and No. 2 


for height, place the guide over a piece 
of black mask paper and prick through 
the proper intersections with the point 
of a pin. This outlines the desired 


opening, which may then be cut out 
easily with a knife and straight edge. 

The black paper from plate boxes 
and film rolls is excellent for making 
masks. It should be cut up in pieces 
314 by 4 in. and kept ready for use 
at any time. 


Relieving the Weight of a Talking- 
Machine Reproducer 

Too loud reproduction from a rec¬ 
ord, the scratching noise sometimes 
heard and the forcing of the needle 
into a soft record, because the exten¬ 
sion arm and reproducer are too heavy, 
can be remedied in the following man¬ 
ner: Attach a small ring to the under 
side of the horn and use a rubber band 1 
to lift the extending arm slightly.— 
Contributed by W. A. Jaquythe, Rich¬ 
mond, Cal. 


2 4 6 


6 4 2 


Form for Marking Out Rectangular Lantern Slide Masks 






































246 


How to Make a Thermometer Back in Etched Copper 


Etching copper is not a very difficult 
process. Secure a sheet of No. 16 
gauge copper of the width and length 



wanted for the back of the thermom¬ 
eter. In the design shown the extreme 
width is 3y 2 in. and the extreme length 
7 in. 

Draw a design. The one shown is 
merely suggestive. The worker may 
change the outline or proportions as 
desired. The decoration, too, may be 
changed. The essential thing is to 
keep a space upon which to place the 
thermometer. This design is in what is 
known as two-part symmetry. A line 
is drawn down the paper and one-half 
of the outline and decoration worked 
out. This done, the paper is folded 
along the center line, a piece of carbon 
paper is inserted between the folds and 
the design transferred on the inner 
surfaces by tracing with a pencil over 


the half of the outline previously 
drawn. Trace the design and outline 
upon the metal, using the carbon paper. 

Cut out the outline with metal shears 
and file the edges smooth. 

With a small brush and ordinary 
asphaltum or black varnish, paint the 
design, the margin and the entire back 
of the metal. When this coat has dried 
put on a second and then a third. The 
asphaltum is to keep the acid into 
which the metal is to be immersed 
later from eating any part of the metal 
but the background. Two coats or 
more are needed to withstand the ac¬ 
tion of the acid. 

The acid bath is composed of nitric 
acid and water, about half and half, or, 
possibly, a little less acid than water, 
the mixture being made by pouring the 
acid into the water, not the water into 
the acid, which is dangerous. Keep this 
solution off the hands and clothes, and 
do not inhale the fumes. 

Put the asphalt-coated metal in the 
bath and allow it to remain for four or 
five hours, depending upon the thick¬ 
ness of the metal and the strength of 
the acid. With a stick, or a pair of old 
tongs, take the metal out of the acid 
occasionally and examine it to see how 
deep the acid has eaten it—g 1 ^ in. is 
about right for the No. 16 gauge. 

When etched to the desired depth, 
remove the piece and with an old knife 
scrape off the asphaltum. Finish the 
cleaning by scrubbing with turpentine 
and a brush having stiff bristles. 

If the metal is first covered with 
turpentine and then heated over a 
flame, all the colors of the rainbow will 
appear on its surface. These colors 
fade away in the course of a long time, 
but they can be easily revived. An¬ 
other way to get these colors is to heat 
the metal and then plunge it into the 
acid bath quickly. 

A green finish is obtained by paint¬ 
ing the background with an acid stain 
composed as follows: 1 part ammonia 
muriate; 3 parts ammonia carbonate; 
24 parts water. If one coat does not 
give the depth of color desired, repeat 





















247 


as many times as is necessary, allow¬ 
ing each coat time to dry before apply¬ 
ing the next. 

To “fix” this color so that it will not 
rub off, and to keep the metal from tar¬ 
nishing, apply a coat of banana oil or 
lacquer. 

Thermometers of suitable size can 
be bought in either brass or nickel. 
They have holes through their top and 
bottom ends through which metal pa¬ 
per fasteners can be inserted, and these 
in turn put through holes punched in 
the copper back. 


To Make an Electric Piano 

Make or buy a table, about 3 ft. long 
and 1 ft. or more wide, and about 2% 
ft. high. Nail a board, A, Fig. 1, about 
8 in. wide and of the same length as 
the table, to the table, as shown in the 
illustration. Paint the table any color 
desired. 

Purchase a dozen or so battery elec¬ 
tric bells (they are cheaper if bought 
by the dozen) and screw them to the 
board, as in Fig. 2. Arrange the bells 
in the scale shown at B, Fig. 2. Bore 
two holes near the posts of each bell 
for the wires to pass through. 

Buttons for the bells may be pur¬ 
chased, but it is cheaper to make them 
in the following way: Take a piece of 


wood and cut it round, about 2% i n - i n 
diameter and % in. thick, Fig. 3, and 
bore two holes, C and D, through it. 
Then get two posts, about 1 in. long, 
(battery posts will do) and put them 
through the holes as in Fig. 4. Cut 
out a piece of tin, % in. wide, punch a 
hole through it and put in under post 
E, so that when it is pressed down, it 
will touch post F. It may be either 
nailed or screwed down. 

Make two holes in the table for each 
button and its wires, as at H, Fig. 2. 
Nail or screw the buttons to the table, 


as shown in Fig. 5, with the wires un¬ 
derneath. The connections are simple: 
I, Fig. 5, is a wire running from one 
end of the table to the other end, at¬ 
tached to a post at each end; J is an¬ 
other wire attached in the same way; 
L is the carbon wire running from the 
batteries to I; M is the zinc wire run¬ 
ning from the batteries to wire J; O 
indicates the batteries; P is a wire run¬ 
ning from J to one post of a button; Q 
is another wire running from the other 
post of the button to one of the posts 
of the bell; R is a wire running from I 
to one post of the bell. When the but¬ 
ton S is pressed, the bell will ring. 
Each button should be connected with 
its bell in the same way.—Contributed 
by Vincent de Ybarrondo. 













































248 


Imitation Arms and Armor 

PART III 


Maces and battle-axes patterned after are somewhat difficult to make. After 
and made in imitation of the ancient the glue is dry, remove all the surplus 
weapons which were used from the thathasbeen pressed out from the joints 



fourteenth to the sixteenth century 
produce fine ornaments for the hall or 
den, says the English Mechanic. The 
imitation articles are made of wood, the 
steel parts represented by tinfoil stuck 
on with glue and the ornaments carved 
out with a carving tool. 

An English mace used about the mid¬ 
dle of the fifteenth century is shown in 
Fig. 1. The entire length of this 
weapon is about 24 in.; the handle is 
round with a four-sided sharp spike ex¬ 
tending out from the points of six tri¬ 
angular shaped wings. Cut the handle 
and spike from one piece of wood and 
glue the wings on at equal distances 
apart around the base of the spike. 
The two bands or wings can be made 
by gluing two pieces of rope around 
the handle and fastening it with tacks. 
These rings can be carved out, but they 


with the point of a sharp knife blade 
and then sandpaper the surface of the 
wood to make it smooth. Secure some 
tinfoil to cover the parts in imitation of 
steel. A thin coat of glue is quickly 
applied to the surface of the wood and 
the tinfoil laid on evenly so there will 
be no wrinkles and without making 
any more seams than is necessary. 
The entire weapon, handle and all, is 
to appear as steel. 

An engraved iron mace of the fif¬ 
teenth century is shown in Fig. 2. This 
weapon is about 22 in. long, mounted 
with an eight-sided or octagonal head. 
It will be easier to make this mace in 
three pieces, the octagonal head in one 
piece and the handle in two parts, so 
that the circular shield shown at the 
lower end of the handle can be easily 
placed between the parts. The circu- 






















249 


lar piece or shield can be cut from a 
piece of wood about *4 in. thick. The 
circle is marked out with a compass. 
A hole is made through the center for 
the dowel of the two handle parts when 
they are put together. A wood peg 
about 2 in. long serves as the dowel. 
A hole is bored in the end of both 
handle pieces and these holes well 
coated with glue, the wood peg in¬ 
serted in one of them, the shield put 
on in place and handle parts put to¬ 
gether and left for the glue to set. The 
head is fastened on the end of the 
handle with a dowel in the same man¬ 
ner as putting the handle parts to¬ 
gether. 

The head must have a pattern 
sketched upon each side in pencil 
marks, such as ornamental scrolls, 
leaves, flowers, etc. These ornaments 
must be carved out to a depth of about 
14 in. with a sharp carving tool. If 
such a tool is not at hand, or the 
amateur cannot use it well, an excellent 
substitute will be found in using a 
sharp-pointed and red-hot poker, or 
pieces of heavy wire heated to burn out 
the pattern to the desired depth. The 
handle also has a scroll to be engraved. 
When the whole is finished and cleaned 



up, it is covered with tinfoil in imita¬ 
tion of steel. The tinfoil should be 
applied carefully, as before mentioned, 


and firmly pressed into the engraved 
parts with the finger tips or thumb. 

A French mace used in the sixteenth 
century is shown in Fig. 3. This 
weapon is about 22 in. long and has a 
wood handle covered with dark red 
cloth or velvet, the lower part to have 
a gold or red silk cord wound around 
it, as shown, the whole handle finished 
off with small brass-headed nails. The 
top has six ornamental carved wings 
which are cut out, fastened on the 
handle and covered with tinfoil, as de¬ 
scribed in Fig. 2. 

Figure 4 shows a Morning Star 
which is about 26 in. long. The spiked 
ball and the four-sided and sharp- 
pointed spike are of steel. The ball 
may be made of clay or wood and cov¬ 
ered with tinfoil. The spikes are cut 
out of wood, sharp-pointed and cone- 
shaped, the base having a brad to stick 
into the ball. The wood spikes are also 
covered with tinfoil. The handle is of 
steel imitation, covered in the middle 
with red cloth or velvet and studded 
with large-headed steel nails. 

A war hammer of the fifteenth cen¬ 
tury is shown in Fig. 5. Its length is 
about 3 ft. The lower half of the 
handle is wood, covered with red vel¬ 



vet, with a golden or yellow cord 
wound spirally over the cloth. The 
upper half of the handle is steel, also, 
























250 


the hammer and spike. The entire 
handle should be made of one piece, 
then the hammer put on the base of 
the spike. The spike made with a peg 
in its lower end and well glued, can be 
firmly placed in position by the peg fit¬ 
ting in a hole made for its reception in 
the top of the handle. Finish up the 
steel parts with tinfoil. 

The following described weapons 
can be constructed of the same mate¬ 
rials and built up in the same way as 
described in the foregoing articles: A 
horseman’s short-handled battle-axe, 
used at the end of the fifteenth century, 
is shown in Fig. 6. The handle is of 
wood and the axe in imitation steel. 
Figure 7 shows an English horseman’s 
battle-axe used at the beginning of the 
reign of Queen Elizabeth. The handle 
and axe both are to be shown in steel. 
A German foot soldier’s poleaxe used 
at the end of the fourteenth century is 
shown in Fig. 8. The handle is made 
of dark wood and the axe covered with 
tinfoil. Figure 9 shows an English 
foot soldier’s jedburgh axe of the six¬ 
teenth century. The handle is of wood, 
studded with large brass or steel nails. 
The axe is shown in steel. All of 
these axes are about the same length. 


Playing Baseball with a Pocket Knife 

An interesting game of baseball can 
be played by two persons with a com¬ 
mon pocket knife on a rainy day or in 


upward movement of the forefinger it 
is thrown into the air to fall and land 
in one of the positions shown. . The 
plays are determined by the position of 
the knife after the fall. 

A foul ball is indicated by Fig. 2, 
the knife resting on its back. The small 
blade sticking in the board which holds 
the handle in an upright position, as 
shown in Fig. 3, calls for a home run. 
Both blades sticking in the board (Fig. 
4), a three-base hit. A two-base hit is 
made when the large blade sticks in the 
board, Fig. 5. A one-base hit is se¬ 
cured when the large blade and the 
end of the handle touch the board as 
in Fig. 6. The knife falling on its side 
(Fig. 7) calls for one out. Each person 
plays until three outs have been made, 
then the other plays, and so on for 
nine innings.—Contributed by Herbert 
Hahn, Chicago. 


How to Remove Paper Stuck to a 
Negative 

When making photographic prints 
from a negative, sometimes a drop of 
moisture will cause the print to stick 
to the gelatine film on the glass. Re¬ 
move as much of the paper as can be 
readily torn off and soak the negative 
in a fresh hypo bath of 3 or 4 oz. hypo 
to 1 pt. of water for an hour or two. 
Then a little gentle rubbing with the 
finger—not the finger nail—will remove 
anything adhering to the film. It may 


hs 5 (F.©.4 3 



Positions of the Knife Indicate the Plays 


the winter time when the regular game 
cannot be played outdoors. The knife 
is opened and loosely stuck into a 
board, as in Fig. 1, and with a quick 


be found that the negative is not 
colored. If it is spotted at all, the nega¬ 
tive must be washed for a few minutes 
and placed in a combined toning and 

























251 


fixing bath, which will remove the 
spots in a couple of hours. The nega¬ 
tive must be well washed after going 
through the solutions to take away any 
trace of hypo. 


Old-Time Magic 

A Sack Trick 

The magician appears accompanied 
by his assistant. He has a sack similar 
to a meal bag only on a large scale. 
The upper end of this bag is shown in 
Fig. 1, with the rope laced in the cloth. 
He then selects several people from the 
audience as a committee to examine 
the sack to see that there is absolutely 
no deception whatever in its makeup. 
When they are satisfied that the bag or 
sack is all right, the magician places his 
assistant inside and drawing the bag 
around him he allows the committee to 
tie him up with as many knots as they 
choose to make, as shown in Fig. 2. 

The bag with its occupant is placed 
in a small cabinet which the committee 
surround to see that there is no outside 
help. The magician then takes his 
watch and shows the audience that in 
less than 30 seconds his assistant will 
emerge from the cabinet with the sack 
in his hand. This he does, the sack is 
again examined and found to be the 
same as when it was first seen. 

The solution is when the assistant 
enters the bag he pulls in about 15 in. 
of the rope and holds it, as shown in 
Fig. 3, while the committee is tying 
him up. As soon as he is in the cabinet 
he merely lets out the slack thus mak¬ 
ing enough room for his body to pass 
through. When he is out of the bag 
he quickly unties t]ie knots and then 
steps from his cabinet.—Contributed by 
J. F. Campbell, Somerville, Mass. 

The Invisible Light 

The magician places two common 
wax candles on a table, one of them 
burning brightly, the other without a 
light. Members of the audience are 
allowed to inspect both the table and 
the candles. . 

The magician walks over to the burn¬ 
ing candle, shades the light for a few 


seconds, turns to the audience with his 
hands a few inches apart, showing,that 
there is nothing between them, at the 



Sack Trick—Holding the Rope Inside the Bag 


same time saying that he has a light 
between his hands, invisible to them 
(the audience), with which he is going 
to light the other candle. He then 
walks over to the other candle, and, in 
plain sight of the audience lights the 
candle apparently with nothing. 

In reality the magician has a very 
fine wire in his hand which he is heat¬ 
ing while he bends over the lighted 
candle, and the audience gaze on and 
see nothing. He turns io the other 
candle and touches a grain of phos¬ 
phorus that has been previously con¬ 
cealed in the wick with the heated wire, 
thus causing it to light.—Contributed 
by C. Brown, New York City. 


Using the Sun’s Light in a Magic 
Lantern 

The light furnished with a small 
magic lantern does very well for even¬ 
ing exhibitions, but the lantern can be 
used in the daytime with good results 
by directing sunlight through the lens 
instead of using the oil lamp. 

A window facing the sun is selected 



















252 


and the shade is drawn almost down, 
the remaining space being covered by 
a piece of heavy paper. A small hole is 



cut in the paper and the lantern placed 
on a table in front of the hole, the lamp 
having been removed and the back 
opened. The lantern must be arranged 
so that the lens will be on a horizontal 
line with the hole in the paper. A mir¬ 
ror is then placed just outside of the 
window and at such an angle that the 
beam of light is thrown through the 
hole in the paper and the lens of the 
lantern. 

The shades of the remaining win¬ 
dows are then drawn and the lantern 
is operated in the usual way.—Contrib¬ 
uted by L. B. Evans, Lebanon, Ky. 


A Handy Drill Gauge 

The accompanying sketch shows a 
simple drill gauge which will be found 
very handy for amateurs. The gauge 
consists of a piece of hard wood, % in. 
thick, with a width and length that will 
be suitable for the size and number of 
drills you have on hand. Drill a hole 
through the wood with each drill you 
have and place a screweye in one end 
to be used as a hanger. When you 
want to drill a hole for a pipe, bolt, 



Drill Gauge 


screw, etc., you take the gauge and find 
what size drill must be used in drilling 
the hole.—Contributed by Andrew G. 
Thome, Louisville, Ky. 


A good stove polish can be made by 
mixing together 1 lb. of plumbago, 4 
oz. of turpentine, 4 oz. of water and 1 
oz. of sugar. Mix well and apply with 
a cloth or brush. j 


A Home-Made Daniell Cell 

An effective Daniell galvanic cell 
may be constructed from material cost¬ 
ing very little money. A common tin 
tomato can with a copper wire soldered 
to the top forms the jar and positive 
electrode. A piece of discarded stove 
zinc rolled into an open cylinder of 
about 1%-in. diameter, 5 in. long, with 
a copper wire soldered at one end 
forms the negative electrode. 

To make the porous cell, roll a piece 
of heavy brown wrapping paper, or 
blotting paper, into a tube of several 
thicknesses, about 5 in. long with an 
internal diameter of 2 in. Tie the paper 
firmly to prevent unrolling and close up 
one end with plaster of paris % in. 
thick. It is well to slightly choke the 
tube to better retain the plaster. The 
paper used must be unsized so that the 
solutions can 
mingle through 
the pores. 

Two liquids 
are necessary for 
the cell. Make a 
strong solution 
in a glass or 
wooden vessel of 
blue vitriol in 
water. Dilute 
some oil of vit- 
r i o 1 (sulphuric 
acid) with about 
12 times its 
measure of water 
and keep in a bottle when not in use. 
In making up the solution, add the acid 
to the water with constant stirring. 
Do not add water to the acid. 

The cell is charged by placing the 
zinc in the paper tube and both placed 
into the tin can. Connect the two 
wires and pour the dilute acid into 
the porous cell around the zinc, and 
then immediately turn the blue vitriol 
solution into the can outside the paper 
cup. 

A current generates at once and 
metallic copper begins to deposit on 
the inside of the can. It is best to let 
the action continue for a half hour or 
so before putting the cell into use. 






















253 


Several hours working will be required 
before the film of copper becomes suf¬ 
ficiently thick to protect the tin from 
corrosion when the cell stands idle. 
For this reason it will be necessary to 
pour out the blue vitriol solution into 
another receptacle immediately after 
through using, as otherwise the tin 
would be soon eaten full of holes. The 
porous cup should always be emptied 
after using to prevent the diffusion of 
the blue vitriol solution into the cup, 
and the paper tube must be well rinsed 
before putting away to dry. 

This makes one of the most satisfac¬ 
tory battery cells on account of the 
constancy of its current, running for 
hours at a time without materially los¬ 
ing strength, and the low cost of main¬ 
tenance makes it especially adapted 
for amateurs’ use. Its current strength 
is about one volt, but can be made up 
into any required voltage in series. A 
battery of a dozen cells should cost not 
to exceed 50 cts. for the material, 
which will give a strong, steady cur¬ 
rent, amply sufficient for all ordinary 
experimental work. 

A strong solution of common salt 
may be used in place of the oil of vit¬ 
riol in the porous cup, but is not so 
good.—Contributed by C. H. Dennis- 
ton, Pulteney, N. Y. 


A Home-Made Equatorial 

By Harry Clark 

The ordinary equatorial is designed 
and built for the latitude of the ob¬ 
servatory where it is to be used. This 
is necessary since the hour axis must 
point to the north pole of the heavens 
whose elevation above the horizon is 
equal to the latitude of the observer’s 
station. The final adjustment of an 
ordinary equatorial is very tedious so 
that when once set up it is not to be 
moved. This calls for a suitable house 
to protect the instrument. It has been 
the aim of the writer to build a very 
simple instrument for amateur work 
which would be adjustable to any lati¬ 
tude, so easily set up ready for work 
and so portable that it need not be left 


out of doors from one evening until 
the next. 

The instrument is mounted on a 
tripod or piece of iron pipe carrying a 



short vertical rod of %-in. steel. A 
rectangular wooden frame with suit¬ 
able bearings rotates about this shaft. 
The frame has also two horizontal bear¬ 
ings carrying a short shaft to the end 
of which the frame carrying the hour 
axis is firmly clamped. By this ar¬ 
rangement of two perpendicular shafts 
the hour axis may be directed to any 
point in the heavens without care as to 
how the tripod or pipe is set up. 

The frame for the hour axis is about 
12 in. long with a bearing at each end. 
The shaft which it carries is %-in. steel, 
carrying the hour circle at one end, and 
at the other the frame for the declina¬ 
tion axis which is similar to the other, 
but somewhat lighter. The declination 
axis is also of %-in. steel, carrying at 
one end the declination circle and the 
pointer at the other. 

The entire frame of the instrument is 
made of cherry and it will save the 
builder much time if he will purchase 
cherry “furniture” which is used by 
printers and can be obtained from any 
printers’ supply company. It is best 
quality wood free from imperfections in 
straight strips one yard long and of a 







254 


uniform width of about % in. As to 
thickness, any multiple of 12-point 
(about y 8 in.) may be obtained, thus 
saving much work in fitting up joints. 
Fifty cents will buy enough wood for 
an entire instrument. All corners are 
carefully mortised and braced with 
small brass angle-pieces. The frame is 
held together by small brass machine 
screws. After much experimentation 
with bearings, it was found best to 
make them in halves as metal bearings 
are usually made. The loose half is 
held in place by guides on all four 
sides and is tightened by two screws 
with milled nuts. A great deal of 
trouble was experienced in boring out 
the bearings until the following method 
was devised. One hole was bored as 
well as possible. The bearing was 
then loosened and a bit run through it 
to bore the other. Finally, a piece of 
shafting was roughened by rolling it on 
a file; placed in both bearings and 
turned with a brace. The bearings 
were gradually tightened until perfect¬ 
ly ground. 

The declination axis must be per¬ 
pendicular to both the hour axis and 
the line of sight over the pointer. To 
insure this, a positive adjustment was 
provided. The end of the shaft is 
clamped in a short block of wood by 
means of a bearing like the ones de¬ 
scribed. One end of the block is hinged 
to the axis frame, while the other end 
is attached by two screws, one drawing 
them together, the other holding them 
apart. The axis is adjusted by turning 
these screws. Each shaft, save the one 
in the pipe, is provided with this ad¬ 
justment. 

The pointer is of two very thin 
strips placed at right angles and 
tapered slightly at each end. The 
clamp is attached as shown in the illus¬ 
tration. The eye piece is a black iron 
washer supported on a small strip of 
wood. The aperture should be % in., 
since the pupil of the eye dilates very 
much in darkness. The error due to 
large aperture is reduced by using a 
very long pointer which also makes it 
possible to focus the eye upon the front 
sight and the star simultaneously. The 


forward sight is a bright brass peg 
illuminated by a tiny electric lamp with 
a reflector to shield the eye. The 
pointer arranged in this way is a great 
improvement over the hollow tube 
sometimes used, since it allows an un¬ 
obstructed view of the heavens while 
indicating the exact point in question. 

The circles of the instrument are of 
aluminum, attached to the shafts by 
means of wooden clamps. They were 
nicely graduated by a home-made 
dividing engine of very simple con¬ 
struction, and the figures were en¬ 
graved with a pantograph. The read¬ 
ing is indicated by a cut on a small 
aluminum plate attached to a pointer. 
The hour circle is divided into 24 parts 
and subdivided to every four minutes. 
The figures are arranged so that when 
the instrument is set up, the number 
of hours increases while the pointer 
travels oppositely to the stars. The 
declination circle is graduated from 
zero to 90 deg. in each direction from 
two points 180 deg. apart. It is ad¬ 
justed to read zero when the pointer 
and two axes are mutually perpendicu¬ 
lar as shown in the picture. 

To adjust the instrument it is set 
up on the iron pipe and the pointer 
directed to some distant object. All 
set screws, excepting those on the dec¬ 
lination axis, are tightened. Then the 
pointer is carefully turned through 180 
deg. and if it is not again directed to 
the same point, it is not perpendicular 
to the declination axis. When properly 
set it will describe a great circle. 
With the declination axis in an approxi¬ 
mately horizontal position the place 
where the pointer cuts the horizon is 
noted. The declination axis is then 
turned through 180 deg., when the 
pointer should again cut at the same 
place. Proper adjustment will cause it 
to do so. It is desirable that the hour 
circle should read approximately zero 
when the declination axis is horizontal, 
but this is not necessary for a reason 
soon to be explained. All these ad¬ 
justments, once carefully made, need 
not be changed. 

In using the instrument the hour 
axis can be directed to the north pole 


255 


by the following method. Point it 
approximately to the north star. The 
pole is 1 deg. and 15 min. from the 
star on a straight line from the star to 
“Mizar,” the star at the bend of the 
handle in the Big Dipper. Turn the 
hour circle into a position where the 
pointer can describe a circle through 
“Mizar.” Only a rough setting is 
necessary. Now turn the pointer so 
that a reading of 88 deg. 45 min. shows 
on the declination circle on that side 
of 90 which is toward “Mizar.” When 
this is done, clamp both axes and turn 
the shafts in the base until the pointer 
is directed accurately to the north star. 
It is evident from a study of the picture 
that the position of the small pointer 
which indicates the reading on the 
hour circle is not independent of the 
way in which the tripod or pipe is set 
up. It would then be useless to adjust 
it carefully to zero when the pointer 
cuts the “zenith” as is done with a 


large equatorial. Instead, the adjust¬ 
ment is made by setting the clock or 
watch which is part of the outfit. The 
pointer is directed to Alpha, Cas- 
siopise, and the hour reading sub¬ 
tracted from 24 hours (the approximate 
right ascension of the star) gives the 
time which the clock should be set to 
indicate. All of these settings should 
require not more than five minutes. 

To find a star in the heavens, look 
up its declination and right ascension 
in an atlas. Set the declination circle 
to its reading. Subtract the clock time 
from the right ascension (plus 24 if 
necessary) and set the hour circle to 
the result. The star will then be seen 
on the tip of the pointer. 

To locate a known star on the map, 
turn the pointer to the star. Declina¬ 
tion is read directly. Add the clock 
time to the hour reading to get right 
ascension. If the result is more than 
24 hours, subtract 24. 


A Ground Glass Substitute 

Ordinary plain glass coated with the 
following mixture will make a good 
ground glass substitute: Dissolve 18 
gr. of gum sandarac and 4 gr. of gum 
mastic in 3% dr. of ether, then add 
1 2-3 dr. benzole. If this will be too 
transparent, add a little more benzole, 
taking care not to add too much. Cover 
one side of a clear glass and after dry¬ 
ing it will produce a perfect surface 
for use as a ground glass in cameras.— 
Contributed by Ray E. Strosnider, 
Plain City, Ohio. 


A Miniature War Dance 

A piece of paper, 3 or 4 in. long, is 
folded several times, as shown in the 
sketch, and the first fold marked out 
to represent one-half of an Indian. Cut 
out all the folds at one time on the 
dotted line and you will have as many 
men joined together as there were 
folds in the paper. Join the hands of 
the two end men with a little paste so 
as to form a circle of Indians holding 
hands. 


The next thing to do is to punch 
holes in heavy cardboard that is large 
enough to cover a pot or stew pan, and 



partially fill the vessel with water. Set 
this covered vessel over a heat and 
bring the water to a boiling point and 
then set the miniature Indians on the 
* perforated cover. The dance will be¬ 
gin. 

If the Indians are decked out with 
small feathers to represent the head 
gear and trailing plumes, a great effect 
will be produced.—Contributed by 
Maurice Baudier, New Orleans, La. 


Turning the water on before starting 
the gas engine may prevent breaking 
a cylinder on a cold day. 

















OLD-TIME MAGIC 


Removing 36 Cannon Balls from a Handbag 

The magician produces a small 
handbag and informs the audience that 
he has it filled with 20-lb. cannon balls. 
He opens up the bag and takes out a 
ball which he passes to the audience 



Fig. 1 Fig 2 


Balls Made of Spring Wire 

for examination. The ball is found to 
be the genuine article. He makes a 
few passes with the wand and pro¬ 
duces another ball, and so on until 36 
of them lie on the floor. 

In reality the first ball, which is the 
one examined, is the real cannon ball, 
the others are spiral-spherical springs 
covered with black cloth (Fig. 1). 
These balls can be pressed together in 
flat disks and put in the bag, Fig. 2, 
without taking up any great amount of 
space. When the spring is released it 
will fill out the black cloth to repre¬ 
sent a cannon ball that cannot be dis¬ 
tinguished from the real article.—Con¬ 
tributed by J. F. Campbell, Somerville, 
Mass. 

A Rising Card Trick 

A rising card trick can be accom¬ 
plished with very little skill by using 
the simple device illustrated. The only 



things needed are four ordinary play¬ 
ing cards and a short rubber band. 


Pass one end of the rubber band 
through one card and the other end 
through the other card, as shown in 
the illustration, drawing the cards 
close together and fastening the ends 
by putting a pin through them. The 
remaining two cards are pasted to the 
first two so as to conceal the pins and 
ends of the rubber band. 

Put the cards with the rubber band 
in a pack of cards; take any other card 
from the pack and show it to the aud¬ 
ience in such a way that you do not 
see and know the card shown. Return 
the card to the pack, but be sure and 
place it between the cards tied to¬ 
gether with the rubber band. Grasp 
the pack between your thumb and fin¬ 
ger tightly at first, and by gradually 
loosening your hold the card pre¬ 
viously shown to the audience will 
slowly rise out of the pack.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Tomi O’Kawara, San Fran¬ 
cisco, Cal. 


Sliding Box Cover Fastener 

While traveling through the country 
as a watchmaker I “found it quite con¬ 
venient to keep my small drills, taps, 
small brooches, 
etc., i n boxes 
having a sliding 
cover. To keep 
the contents 
from spilling or 
getting mixed in my case I used a small 
fastener as shown in the accompanying 
illustration. The fastener is made of 
steel or. brass and fastened by means 
of small screws or tacks on the out¬ 
side of the box. A hole is drilled on 
the upper part to receive the pin that 
is driven into the sliding cover. This 
pin should not stick out beyond the 
thickness of the spring, which is bent 
up at the point so the pin will freely 
pass under it. The pin can be driven 
through the cover to prevent it from 
being pulled entirely out of the box.— 
Contributed by Herm Grabemann, Mil¬ 
waukee, Wis. 






































257 


How to Chain a Dog 


A good way to chain a dog and give collar is fastened to the ring. This 
him plenty of ground for exercise is to method can also be used for tethering 
stretch a clothesline or a galvanized a cow or horse, the advantage being 



wire between the house and barn on the use of a short tie rope eliminating 
which is placed a ring large enough to the possibility of the animal becoming 
slide freely. The chain from the dog’s entangled. 


Water-Color Box 

There are many different trays in 
the market for the purpose of holding 
water colors, but they are either too 
expensive for the average person or 
too small to be convenient. I do a 
great deal of water-color work and 
always felt the need of a suitable color 
dish. At last I found something that 
filled my want and suited my pocket- 
book. I bought 22 individual salt 
dishes and made a box to hold them, 
as shown in the illustration. This box 
has done good service. 

Some of the advantages are: Each 
color is in a separate dish which can 
be easily taken out and cleaned; the 
dishes are deep enough to prevent spill¬ 
ing the colors into the adjoining ones, 
and the box can be made as big or as 
smalj as individual needs require. The 
tray containing the color dishes and 
brushes rests on %-in. round pieces 
2% i n - from the bottom of the box, 


thus giving ample store room for 
colors, prints, slides and extra brushes. 



Color Trays Made of Salt Dishes 


—Contributed by B. Beller, Hartford, 
Connecticut. 


CInk usually corrodes pens in a short 
time. This can be prevented by plac¬ 
ing pieces of steel pens or steel wire 
in the ink, which will absorb the acid 
and prevent it from corroding the pens. 













































258 


A Plant-Food Percolator 

Obtain two butter tubs and bore a 
large number of %-in. holes in the 
bottom of one, then cover the perfor¬ 
ated part 
with a 
piece of 
fine brass 
gauze 

(Fig. 1), 
tacking 
the gauze 
well at the 
corn ers. 
The other 
tub should 
be fitted 
with a 
faucet of 
some kind 
—a wood 
faucet, 
costing 5 
cents, will 
answer 
the pur¬ 
pose. Put 
the first 
tub on top 
of the 
other with 
two nar¬ 
row strips 
bet ween 
them 
(Fig. 2). 
Fill the 
upper tub, 
about three-fourths full, with well 
packed horse manure, and pour water 
on it until it is well soaked. When 
the water has percolated through into 
the lower tub, it is ready to use on 
house and garden plants and is better 
than plain water, as it adds both fertil-. 
izer and moisture.—Contributed by 
C. O. Darke, West Lynn, Mass. 


([Always caliper the work in a lathe 
while it is standing still. 


([Never use the ways of a lathe for an 
anvil or storage platform. 


Folding Quilting-Frames 

The frame in which the material is 
kept stretched when making a quilt is 
usually too large to be put out of the 
way conveniently when other duties 
must be attended to; and especially are 
the end pieces objectionable. This 
can be remedied by hinging the ends 
so they will fold underneath to the 
center. The end pieces are cut in two 
at one-fourth their distance from each 
end, a hinge screwed to the under side 
to hold them together, and a hook and 
eye fastened on the other side to hold 
the parts rigid when they are in use. 
When the ends are turned under, the 
frame is narrow enough to be easily 
carried from one room to another, or 
placed against a wall. 


A Drip Shield for the Arms 

When working with the hands in a 
pan of water, oil or other fluid, it is 
very disagreeable to have the liquid 
run down the arms, when they are 
raised from the pan, often to soil the 
sleeves of a clean garment. A drip 
shield which will stop the fluid and 
cause it to run back into the pan can 
be easily made from a piece of sheet 
rubber or, if this is not available, from 
a piece of the inner tube of a bicycle 
tire. Cut a washer with the hole large 
enough to fit snugly about the wrist, 
but not so tight as to stop the circula¬ 



tion of the blood. A pair of these 
shields will always come in handy.— 
Contributed by L. M. Eifel, Chicago. 











































259 


How to Cane Chairs 


There are but few households that 
do not have at least one or two chairs 
without a seat or back. The same 
households may have some one who 
would enjoy recaning the chairs if he 
only knew how to do it, and also make 
considerable pin money by repairing 
chairs for the neighbors. If the fol¬ 
lowing directions are carried out, new 
cane seats and backs can easily be put 
in chairs where they are broken or 
sagged to an uncomfortable position. 

The first thing necessary is to re¬ 
move the old cane. This can be done 
by turning the chair upside down and, 
with the aid of a sharp knife or chisel, 
cutting the cane between the holes. 
After this is done the old bottom can be 
pulled out. If plugs are found in any 
of the holes, they should be knocked 
out. If the beginner is in doubt about 
finding which holes along any curved 
^ides should be used for the cane run¬ 
ning nearly parallel to the edge, he may 
find it to his advantage to mark the 
holes on the under side of the frame 
before removing the old cane. 

The worker should be provided with 
a small sample of the old cane. At 
any first-class hardware store a bundle 
of similar material may be secured. 

The cane usually comes in lengths of 
about 15 ft. and each bundle contains 


rind, a square pointed wedge, as shown 
in Fig. 1, and 8 or 10 round wood plugs, 
which are used for temporarily hold¬ 
ing the ends of the cane in the holes. 



A bucket of water should be supplied 
in which to soak the cane just before 
weaving it. Several minutes before you 
are ready to begin work, take four or 
five strands of the cane, and, after hav¬ 
ing doubled them up singly into con¬ 
venient lengths and tied each one into 
a single knot, put them into the water 
to soak. The cane is much more pli¬ 
able and is less liable to crack in bend¬ 
ing when worked while wet. As fast 
as the soaked cane is used, more of it 
should be put into the water. 

Untie one of the strands which has 



Three Stages of Weaving 


enough to reseat several chairs. In been well soaked, put about 3 or 4 in. 
addition to the cane, the worker should down through the hole at one end of 
provide himself with a piece of bacon what is to be the outside strand of 




















































































































































260 


one side and secure it in this hole by 
means of one of the small plugs men¬ 
tioned. The plug should not be forced 
in too hard nor cut off, as it must be re¬ 



moved again. The other end of the 
strand should be made pointed and 
passed down through the hole at the 
opposite side, and, after having been 
pulled tight, held there by inserting 
another plug. Pass the end up through 
the next hole, then across and down, 
and hold while the second plug is 
moved to the last hole through which 
the cane was drawn. In the same man¬ 
ner proceed across the chair bottom. 
Whenever the end of one strand is 
reached, it should be held by a plug, 
and a new one started in the next hole 
as in the beginning. No plugs should 
be permanently removed until another 
strand of cane is through the same hole 
to hold the first strand in place. After 
laying the strands across the seat in 
one direction, put in another layer at 
right angles and lying entirely above 
the first layer. Both of these layers 
when in place appear as shown in one 
of the illustrations. 

After completing the second layer, 
stretch the third one, using the same 
holes as for the first layer. This will 
make three layers, the first being 
hidden by the third while the second 
layer is at right angles to and between 
the first and third. No weaving has 
been done up to this time, nothing but 
stretching and threading the cane 
through the holes. The cane will have 
the appearance shown in Fig. 3. The 
next thing to do is to start the cane 
across in the same direction as the 
second layer and begin the weaving. 


The top or third layer strands should 
be pushed toward the end from which 
the weaving starts, so that the strand 
being woven may be pushed down be¬ 
tween the first and third layers and up 
again between pairs. The two first 
strands of the fourth layer are shown 
woven in Fig. 3. During the weaving, 
the strands should be lubricated with 
the rind of bacon to make them pass 
through with ease. Even with this 
lubrication, one can seldom weave more 
than half way across the seat with the 
pointed end before finding it advisable 
to pull the remainder of the strand 
through. After finishing this fourth 
layer of strands, it is quite probable 
that each strand will be about midway 
between its two neighbors instead of 
lying close to its mate as desired, and 
here is where the square and pointed 
wedge is used. The wedge is driven 
down between the proper strands to 
move them into place. 

Start at one corner and weave diag¬ 
onally, as shown in Fig. 4, making sure 
that the strand will slip in between the 
two which form the corner of the square 
in each case. One more weave across 
on the diagonal and the seat will be 
finished except for tlie binding, as 
shown in Fig. 5. The binding consists 
of one strand that covers the row of 
holes while it is held down with an¬ 
other strand, a loop over the first being 
made every second or third hole as de¬ 
sired. It will be of great assistance 
to keep another chair with a cane 
bottom at hand to examine while re¬ 
caning the first chair.—Contributed by 
M. R. W. _ 

Repairing a Cracked Composition 
Developing Tray 

Fill the crack with some powdered 
rosin and heap it up on the outside. 
Heat a soldering-iron or any piece of 
metal enough to melt the rosin and let 
it flow through the break. When cool, 
trim off the surplus rosin. If handled 
with a little care, a tray repaired in this 
manner will last a long time. The 
chemicals will not affect the rosin.— 
Contributed by E. D. Patrick, Detroit, 
Michigan. 






















261 


How to Lay Out a Sundial 


The sundial is an instrument for 
measuring time by using the shadow of 
the sun. They were quite common in 
ancient times before clocks and watches 
were invented. At the present time 
they are used more as an ornamenta¬ 
tion than as a means of measuring 
time, although they are quite accurate 
if properly constructed. There are 
several different designs of sundials, 
but the most common, and the. one we 
shall describe in this article, is the 
horizontal dial. It consists of a flat 
circular table, placed firmly on a solid 
pedestal and having a triangular plate 
of metal, Fig. 1, called the gnomon, ris¬ 
ing from its center and inclined toward 
the meridian line of the dial at an angle 
equal to the latitude of the place where 
the dial is to be used. The shadow of 
the edge of the triangular plate moves 
around the northern part of the dial 
from morning to afternoon, and thus 
supplies a rough measurement of the 
hour of the day. 

The style or gnomon, as it always 
equals the latitude of the place, can be 
laid out as follows: Draw a line AB, 
Fig. 1, 5 in. long and at the one end 
erect a perpendicular BC, the height 
of which is taken from table No. 1. It 
may be necessary to 
interpolate for a 
given latitude, as for 
example, lat. 41°-30'. 

From table No. 1 lat. 

42° is 4.5 in. and for 
lat. 40°, the next 
smallest, it is 4.2 in. 

Their difference is .3 
in. for 2°, and for 1° 
it would be .15 in. 

For 30' it would be 
% of 1° or .075 in. 

All added to the les¬ 
ser or 40°, we have 
4.2 + ,15 + .075 in.= 

4.42 in. as the height 
of the line BC for lat. 

41°-30'. If you have 
a table of natural 
functions, the height 


of the line BC, or the style, is the base 
(5 in. in this case) times the tangent 
of the degree of latitude. Draw the 
line AD, and the angle BAD is the 
correct angle for the style for the given 



Table No. i. 

Height of stile in inches fora 5 m. 
base, for various latitudes 


Latitude 

Height 

Latitude 

Height 

25° 

233 

42° 

4.50 

26° 

244 

44° 

483 

27° 

2.55 

46° 

5.18 

ro 

Q> 

o 

2.66 

48° 

555 

30° 

2.89 

50° 

596 

32° 

3.12 

52° 

640 

34° 

3.37 

54° 

688 

36° 

3.63 

56° 

7.41 

3&° 

3.91 

58° 

8.00 

40° 

4.20 

60° 

866 


Details of Dial 

latitude. Its thickness, if of metal, may 
be conveniently from % to % ; or if 

of stone, an inch or two, or more, ac¬ 
cording to the size of the dial. Usually 
for neatness of appearance the back of 
the style is hollowed as shown. The 
upper edges which cast the shadows 
must be sharp and straight, and for this 
size dial (10 in. in diameter) they 
should be about 7% in. long. 

To lay out the hour circle, draw two 
parallel lines AB and CD, Fig. 2, which 
will represent the base in length and 
thickness. Draw two semi-circles, us¬ 
ing the points A and 
C as centers, with a 
radius of 5 in. The 
points of intersection 
with the lines AB and 
CD will be the 12- 
o’clock marks. A line 
EF drawn through 
the points A and C, 
and perpendicular to 
the base or style, and 
intersecting the semi¬ 
circles, gives the 6- 
o’clock points. The 
point marked X is to 
be used as the center 
of the dial. The in¬ 
termediate hour and 
half-hour lines can be 
plotted by using table 
No. 2 for given lati- 
























262 


tudes, placing them to the right or left 
of the 12-o’clock points. For latitudes 
not given, interpolate in the same man¬ 
ner as for the height of the style. The 


hour and the 5 and 10-minute divi¬ 
sions may be spaced with the eye or 
they may be computed. 

When placing the dial in position, 
care must be taken to get it perfectly 
level and have the style at right angles 
to the dial face, with its sloping side 
pointing to the North Pole. An ordi¬ 
nary compass, after allowing for the 
declination, will enable one to set the 
dial, or it may be set by placing it as 
near north and south as one may 
judge and comparing with a watch set 
at standard time. The dial time and 
the watch time should agree after the 
watch has been corrected for the equa¬ 
tion of time from table No. 3, and for 
the difference between standard and lo¬ 
cal time,, changing the position of the 
dial until an agreement is reached. 
Sun time and standard time agree only 
four times a year, April 16, June 15, 
Sept. 2 and Dec. 25, and on these dates 
the dial needs no correction. The cor¬ 
rections for the various days of the 
month can be taken from Table 3. The 
+ means that the clock is faster, and 
the means that the dial is faster 
than the sun. Still another correction 
must be made which is constant for 
each given locality. Standard time is 


the correct time for longitude 75° New 
York, 90° Chicago, 105° Denver and 
120° for San Francisco. Ascertain in 
degrees of longitude how far your dial 
is east or west of the 
nearest standard me¬ 
ridian and divide this 
by 15, reducing the 
answer to minutes and 
seconds, which will be 
the correction in min¬ 
utes and seconds of 
time. If the dial is 
east of the meridian 
chosen, then the 
watch is slower; if 
west, it will be faster. 
This correction can be 
added to the values in 
table No. 3, making 
each value slower 
when it is east of the 
standard meridian 
and faster when it is west. 

The style or gnomon with its base 
can be made in cement and set on a 
cement pedestal which has sufficient 
base placed in the ground to make it 
solid. 

The design of the sundial is left to 
the ingenuity of the maker.—Contrib¬ 
uted by J. E. Mitchell, Sioux City, 
Iowa. 

Table No.3 

Corrections in minutes to change. 
Sun time to local mean time — add 
those marked -h; subtract those 
marked — from Sundial time. 


Day of month 

1 

10 

20 

30 

January 

+3 

+ 7 

+ 11 

+ 13 

February 

+ 14 

+ 14 

+ 14 


March 

+ 13 

+ 1 1 

+ 8 

+5 

April 

+ 4 

+ 2 

-1 

-3 

May 

-3 

-4 

-4 

-3 

June 

— 3 

- 1 

+ 1 

+3 

July 

+ 3 

+ 5 

+ 6 

+ 6 

August 

+ 6 

+ 5 

+ 3 

+ 1 

September 

+ 0 

-3 

-6 

-10 

October 

-10 

-13 

-15 

-16 

November 

-16 

-16 

-14 

-1 1 

December 

-1 1 

-7 

-3 

+ 2 


Table N o.2. 

Chords in inches for a !Oin. circle Sundial. 


•* 




Hours 

or Day 





| 

12-30 

1 

1-30 

2 

2-30 

3 

3-30 

4 

4-30 

5 

5-30 

>4 

11-30 

II 

10-30 

10 

9-30 

9 

8-30 

8 

7-30 

7 

6-30 

25° 

.28 

.56 

.87 

1 19 

157 

1.99 

2.49 

3.11 

3.87 

4.82 

5 93 

30° 

.33 

.66 

1.08 

140 

1.82 

830 

2.85 

349 

4.26 

5.14 

6.10 

35° 

.38 

.76 

1.16 

159 

2.06 

2.57 

3.16 

3.81 

4.55 

5.37 

6.23 

40° 

.42 

.85 

1.30 

1.77 

2.87 

2.82 

3.42 

4.07 

4.79 

5.55 

632 

45° 

.46 

.94 

142 

1.93 

2.46 

3.03 

3,64 

4.29 

4.97 

5.68 

6.39 

50° 

.50 

1.01 

1.53 

2.06 

2.68 

3.21 

3.82 

4.46 

5.12 

5.79 

6.46 

55° 

.54 

1.08 

163 

8.19 

2.77 

3.37 

3 .98 

4.60 

5.24 

5.87 

6.49 

60° 

.57 

1.14 

1.71 

830 

2.89 

3.49 

4.10 

4.72 

534 

5.93 

6.52 























































263 


Imitation Arms and Armor—Part IV 


The ancient arms of defense as shown 
in the accompanying illustrations make 
good ornaments for the den if they are 
cut from wood and finished in imitation 
of the real weapon. The designs shown 
represent original arms of the sixteenth 
and seventeenth centuries. As they are 
the genuine reproductions, each article 
can be labelled with the name, adding 
to each piece interest and value, says 
the English Mechanic, London. 

Each weapon is cut from wood. The 
blades of the axes and the cutting edges 
of the swords are dressed down and 
finished with sandpaper and the steel 
parts represented by covering the wood 
with tinfoil. When putting on the tin- 
foil, brush a thin coat of glue on the 
part to be covered and quickly lay on 
the foil. If a cutting edge is to be 
covered the tinfoil on one side of the 
blade must overlap the edge which is 
pasted on the opposite side. The other 
side is then covered with the tinfoil of a 
size that will not quite cover to the cut¬ 
ting edge. After laying the foil and 
allowing time for the glue to dry, wipe 
the surface with light strokes up and 
down several times using a soft piece of 
cloth. 



A French partisan of the sixteenth 
century is shown in Fig. 1. The 
weapon is 6Y 2 ft. long with a round 
handle having the same circumference 


for the entire length which is covered 
with crimson cloth or velvet and 
studded all over with round-headed 



Fis. 4 Fig, 6 Fl © 6 


Spontoon, Glaive and Voulge 

brass nails. The spear head is of steel 
about 15 in. long from the point where 
it is attached to the handle. The widest 
part of the blade from spear to spear is 
about 8 in. The length of the tassel 
or fringe is about 4 in. 

Figure 2 shows a German military 
fork of the sixteenth century, the length 
of which is about 5 ft. with a handle 
of wood bound with heavy cord in a 
spiral form and the whole painted a 
dark color. The entire length of the 
fork from the handle to the points is 
about 10 in., and is covered with tinfoil 
in imitation of steel. 

A Swiss halberd of the sixteenth 
century is shown in Fig. 3. This com¬ 
bination of an axe and spear is about 
7 ft. long from the point of the spear 
to the end of the handle, which is 
square. The spear and axe is of steel 
with a handle of plain dark wood. The 
holes in the axe can be bored or burned 
out with red-hot iron rods, the holes 
being about % in. in diameter. 

Figure 4 shows an Austrian officers' 
spontoon, used about the seventeenth 
century. It is about 6 ft. long with a 
round wooden handle. The spear head 



























264 


from its point to where fixed on the 
handle is about 9 in. long. The edges 
are sharp. The cross bar which runs 
through the lower end of the spear can 



Halberd, Ranseur and Lance 

be made in two pieces and glued into a 
hole on each side. The length of this 
bar is about 5 in. The small circular 
plate through which the bar is fixed can 
be cut from a piece of cardboard and 
glued on the wooden spear. 

A gisarm or glaive, used by Italians 
in the sixteenth century, is shown in 
Fig. 5. The entire length is about 
ft. The blade is engraved steel with a 
length of metal work from the point of 
the spear to where it joins the handle or 
staff of about 18 in. It has a round 
wooden handle painted black or dark 
brown. The engraved work must be 
carved in the wood and when putting 
the tinfoil on, press it well into the 
carved depressions. 

Figure 6 shows a Saxon voulge of the 
sixteenth century, 6 ft. long, with a 
round wood handle and a steel axe or 
blade, sharp on the outer edge and held 
to the handle by two steel bands, which 
are a part of the axe. The bands can 
be made of cardboard and glued on to 
the wood axe. These bands can be 
made very strong by reinforcing the 
cardboard with a piece of canvas. A 
small curved spear point is carved from 
a piece of wood, covered with tinfoil 
and fastened on the end of the handle 
as shown. The band of metal on the 


side is cut from cardboard, covered with 
tinfoil and fastened on with round- 
headed brass or steel nails. 

A very handsome weapon is the Ger¬ 
man halberd of the sixteenth century 
which is shown in Fig. 7. The entire 
length is about 6% ft., with a round 
wooden handle fitted at the lower end 
with a steel ornament. The length of 
the spear point to the lower end where 
it joins on to the handle is 14 in. The 
extreme width of the axe is 16 or 17 in. 
The outer and inner edges of the 
crescent-shaped part of the axe are 
sharp. This axe is cut out with a scroll 
or keyhole saw and covered with tinfoil. 

An Italian ranseur of the sixteenth 
century is shown in Fig. 8. This 
weapon is about 6 ft. long with a round 
staff or handle. The entire length of 
the metal part from the point of the 
spear to where it joins the staff is 15 
in. The spear is steel, sharp on the 
outer edges. 

Figure 9 shows a tilting lance with 
vamplate used in tournaments in the 
sixteenth century. The wood pole is 
covered with cloth or painted a dark 
color. At the end is a four-pronged 
piece of steel. The vamplate can be 
made of cardboard covered with tinfoil 
to represent steel and studded with 
brass nails. The extreme length is 
9 ft. 

The tassels or fringe used in decorat¬ 
ing the handles can be made from a few 
inches of worsted fringe, about 4 in. 
long and wound around the handle or 
staff twice and fastened with brass¬ 
headed nails. 


An Emergency Babbitt Ladle 

Take an old stove leg and rivet a 
handle on it and then break the piece 
off which fastens 
on the stove. 
The large and 
rounding part of 
the leg makes the 
bowl of the ladle. 
This ladle will be 
found convenient for melting babbitt 
or lead.—Contributed by R. H. Work¬ 
man, Loucjpnville, Ohio. 















265 


How to Make Japanese Portieres 


These very useful and ornamental 
draperies can be easily made at home 
by anyone possessing a little ingenuity. 
They can be made of various materials, 
the most durable being bamboo, al¬ 
though beads of glass or rolled paper 
will produce good results. Substances 
such as straw, while readily adaptable 


make a rough sketch of the design on 
paper. This will greatly aid the maker 
in carrying on the work. 

When the main part of the screen is 
finished, the cross cords, used for spac¬ 
ing and binding the whole together, 
are put in place. This is done with a 
needle made from a piece of small wire, 



Bamboo and Straw Portieres 


and having a neat appearance, are less 
durable and will quickly show wear. 
The paper beads are easily made, as 
shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. In Figs. 1 
and 2 are shown how the paper is cut 
tapering, and as it appears after rolling 
and gluing down the ends. A straight 
paper bead is shown in Fig. 3. 

The first step is to select the kind of 
beads desired for stringing and then 
procure the hanging cord. Be sure to 
get a cord of such size that the beads 
will slip on readily and yet have the 
least possible lateral movement. This 
is important to secure neatness. One 
end of each cord is tied to a round piece 
of wood, or in holes punched in a 
leather strap. Iron or brass rings can 
be used if desired. 

Cut all the cords the same length, 
making allowance for the number of 
knots necessary to produce the design 
selected. Some designs require only 
one knot at the bottom. It is best to 


as shown in Fig. 4. The cross cords 
are woven in as shown in Fig. 5. As 
many of these cross cords can be put in 
as desired, and if placed from 6 to 12 
in. apart, a solid screen will be made 
instead, of a portiere. The twisted 
cross cords should be of such material, 
and put through in such manner that 
they will not be readily seen. If paper 
beads are used they can be colored to 
suit and hardened by varnishing. 

The first design shown is for using 
bamboo. The cords are knotted to hold 
the bamboo pieces in place. The fin¬ 
ished portiere will resemble drawn 
work in cloth. Many beautiful hang¬ 
ings can be easily fashioned. 

The second design is to be con¬ 
structed with a plain ground of either 
straw, bamboo or rolled paper. The 
cords are hung upon a round stick with 
rings of metal to make the sliding 
easy. The design is made by stringing 
beads of colored glass at the right 




















































266 


places between the lengths of ground 
material. One bead is placed at the 
extreme end of each cord. The rows 
of twisted cord placed at the top keep 
the strings properly spaced.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Geo. M. Harrer, Lockport, 
New York. 


Makeshift Camper’s Lantern 

While out camping, our only lantern 
was accidentally smashed beyond re¬ 
pair, and it was necessary to devise 
something that would take its place. 




Lantern Made of Old Cans 


We took an empty tomato can and 
cut out the tin, 3 in. wide, for a length 
extending from a point 2 in. below the 
top to within *4 in. of the bottom. 
Each side of the cut-out A was bent 
inward in the shape of a letter S, in 
which was placed a piece of glass. 
Four V-shaped notches were cut, as 
shown at B, near the top of the can 
and their points turned outward. A 
slit was cut in the bottom, shaped as 
shown at C, and the pointed ends thus 
formed were turned up to make a place 
for holding the base of a candle. A 
larger can was secured and the bot¬ 
tom perforated. This was turned over 


the top of the other can. A heavy 
wire was run through the perforations 
and a short piece of broom handle used 
to make a bail.—Contributed by Mau¬ 
rice Baudier, New Orleans, La. 


New Tires for Carpet-Sweeper Wheels 

The rubber tires on carpet-sweeper 
wheels often become so badly worn 
and stretched that they fail to grip the 
carpet firmly enough to run the 
sweeper. To remedy this, procure 
some rubber tape a little wider than 
the rims of the old wheels, remove the 
old rubber tires and wind the tape on 
the rims to the proper thickness. Trim 
the edges with a sharp knife and rub 
on some chalk or soapstone powder to 
prevent the tape from sticking to the 
carpet. A sweeper treated in this man¬ 
ner will work as well as a new one.— 
Contributed by W. H. Shay, New¬ 
burgh, N. Y. 


Gauntlets on Gloves 

When the fingers or palms of gloves 
with gauntlets wear out, do not throw 
away the gloves, but cut off the gaunt¬ 
lets and procure a pair of gloves with 
short wrists to which the old gaunt¬ 
lets can be sewn after the wrist bands 
have been removed from the new 
gloves. The sewing may be done 
either by hand or on a machine, gather¬ 
ing in any fullness in the bellows of 
the cuff on the under side. A pair of 
gauntlets will outwear three or four 
pairs of gloves.—Contributed by 
Joseph H. Sanford, Pasadena, Cal. 


How to Make an Ornamental Brass 
Flag 

The outlines of the flag—which may 
be of any size to suit the metal at 
hand—and the name are first drawn 
on a sheet of thin paper and then 
transferred to the brass by tracing 
through a sheet of carbon paper. The 
brass should be somewhat larger than 
the design. 

The brass is fastened to a block of 
soft wood with small nails driven 



































267 


through the edges. Indent the name 
and outline of the flag with a small 
chisel with the face ground flat, about 
T V in. wide. This should be done 
gradually, sinking the lines deeper and 
deeper by going over them a number 
of times. After this is finished, the 
brass is loosened from the block, turned 
over but not fastened, and the whole 
outside of and between the letters is 
indented with the rounded end of a 
nail, giving the appearance of ham¬ 
mered brass. 

The edges are now cut off and four 
holes drilled, two for the chain by 
which to hang the flag to the wall, and 
two along the side for attaching the 
staff. The staff is a small brass rod 
with a knob attached to the top end. 

It would be well to polish the brass 
at first, if the finished work is to be 



The Finished Flag 

bright, as it cannot be done after the 
flag is completed. A coat of lacquer 
is applied to keep it from tarnishing. 
This is done by heating the brass and 
quickly applying a coat of shellac.— 
Contributed by Chas. Schaffner, May- 
wood, Ill. 


An Adjustable Punching-Bag Platform 

A punching-bag platform, suitable 
for the tall athlete as well as the small 
boy, is shown in the accompanying 
sketch. The platform is securely 
fastened to two strong wooden arms 
or braces, which in turn are nailed to a 


2 by 12-in. plank as long as the di¬ 
ameter of the platform. This plank, 
as shown in the small drawing at the 



upper left-hand corner of the sketch, 
is placed in grooves or slots fastened 
against the side of a wall. The plank 
with the platform attached may be 
raised or lowered to the desired height 
and held there by a pin or bolt put 
through the bolt-hole of the plank and 
into a hole in the wall.—Contributed 
by W. A. Jaquythe, Richmond, Cal. 


Clasp for Holding Flexible Lamp 
Cords 

A very easily made drop-light ad¬ 
juster is shown in the illustration. It 
consists of a 
piece of cop¬ 
per wire 
in. in diame¬ 
ter, bent as 
shown. This 
clasp is cap¬ 
able of stand¬ 
ing a strong 
pull and will 
hold the 
lamp and socket with a glass shade.— 
E. K. Marshall, Oak Park, Ill. 


CCamel hair brushes for painters’ use 
should never be allowed to come in 
contact with water. 

















268 


Home-Made Electric Clock 


The clock illustrated herewith is 
driven by means of electromagnets act¬ 
ing directly on the pendulum bob. Un¬ 
like most clocks, the pendulum swings 



forward and backward instead of later¬ 
ally. The construction is very simple, 
and the result is not only novel but well 
worth while, because one does not have 
to bother about winding a clock, such 
as this one, says the Scientific Ameri¬ 
can. 

The clock is mounted on a wooden 
base measuring 3% by 6^/2 in., by 
in. thick. Secured centrally on this 
base is a % by %-in. bar, 6 in. long and 
at each side of this, in. away, is an 
electromagnet, % in. in diameter and 
li 7 e in. high. Two uprights, 7% in. 
high and *4 in. in diameter, are secured 
in the base bar, and are connected at 
the top by a brass yoke piece on which 
the clock frame is supported. Just be¬ 
low the yoke piece a hole is drilled in 
each upright to receive the pivot pins 
of the crosspiece secured to the upper 
end of the pendulum rod. The pendu¬ 
lum bob at the lower end is adjusted 
to swing just clear of the electromag¬ 
nets. Mounted at the right-hand side 
of the base are three tall binding-posts, 
the center one being 2% in. high, and 
the other two 2% in. high. Each is 
fitted with a piece of copper wire pro¬ 


vided with a small brass spring tip. 
These springs lie in the plane of the 
pendulum, which serves to swing the 
central tip first against one and then 
against the other of the side tips, there¬ 
by closing the circuit of first one mag¬ 
net and then the other. Each magnet 
attracts the pendulum until its circuit 
is broken by release of the center tip, 
and on- the return swing of the pen¬ 
dulum the circuit of the other magnet 
is similarly closed. Thus the pendulum 
Js kept in motion by the alternate mag¬ 
netic impulses. The clock train is 
taken from a standard clock and the 
motion of the pendulum is imparted to 
the escape wheel by means of a pawl, 
bearing on the latter, which is lifted at 
each forward stroke of the pendulum 
by an arm projecting forward from the 
pivotal end of the pendulum rod. 


Method of Joining Boards 

The amateur wood-worker often has 
trouble in joining two boards together 
so that they will fit square and tight. 
The accompanying sketch shows a sim¬ 
ple and effective 
method of doing 
this. Secure a 
board, A, about 
12 in. wide that 
is perfectly flat. 

Fasten another board, B, about 6 in. 
wide, to the first one with screws or 
glue. Now place the board to,be joined, 
C, on the board B, letting it extend over 
the inside edge about 1 in. and fasten¬ 
ing it to the others with clamps at each 
end. Lay the plane on its side and 
plane the edge straight. Place the 
second board in the clamps in the 
same manner as the first, only have 
the opposite side up. If the cutting 
edge of the blade is not vertical, the 
boards planed in this manner will fit 
as shown in the upper sketch. In us¬ 
ing this method, first-class joints can 
be made without much trouble.—Con¬ 
tributed by V. Metzech, Chicago. 





























269 


Toy Gun for Throwing Cardboard 
Squares 

The parts of the gun are attached to 
a thin piece of wood 1 in. wide and 5 
in. long. It is best to use a piece of 
wood cut from the side or cover of a 
cigar box. A rectangular hole in. 
wide and 1 in. long is cut in the wood 
longitudinally along its axis and 1% 
in. from one end, as shown at A, Fig. 

1. A small notch is made with the 
point of a knife blade at B and notches 
are cut in the end of the wood as 
shown at C. Rubber bands are fas¬ 
tened in these notches as shown in Fig. 

2. The trigger, whose dimensions are 
given in Fig. 3, is fastened in the hole 
A, Fig. 1, by driving a pin through the 
wood. The assembled parts are shown 
in Fig. 4. 

Place the cardboard square in the 
nick B, attach the rubber bands and 
pull the trigger. The top rubber band 
will fly off and drive the cardboard 



Fig.3 


Details of Toy Gun 

square 75 ft. or more. The cardboard 
should be about % in. square. These 
can be cut from any old pasteboard 
box.—-Contributed by Elmer A. Van- 
derslice, Phoenixville, Pa. 


Photographic Developing Tray 

Plates developed in an ordinary tray 
must be removed from the bath occa¬ 
sionally for examination. The film 
when in a chemical-soaked condition is 
easily damaged. The tray illustrated 
herewith was made for the purpose of 
developing plates without having to 
take hold of them until the bath had 
completed its work, the examination 
being made through the plate and the 
bottom of the tray. 


A pocket is provided for the liquid 
developer in one end of the tray when it 



is turned up in a vertical position. A 
tray for developing 5 by 7-in. plates 
should be made 8 in. square inside. 
The side pieces with the grooves for the 
glass are shown in Fig. 1. Two of each 
of these pieces are made with mitered 
ends. The short groove shown in the 
top piece of the illustration is for in¬ 
serting the plate covering on the pocket 
end of the tray. 

Two blocks, one-half the length of 
the side pieces, are put in between the 
glass plates to hold the plate being 
developed from dropping down when 
the tray is tipped up in a vertical posi¬ 
tion. The glass bottom of the tray is 
8% in. square, which allows % in. on 
all edges to set in the grooves of the 
side pieces. The wood pieces should 
be well soaked in hot paraffin, and the 
mitered corners well glued and nailed. 
—Contributed by J. A. Simonis, Fos- 
toria, Ohio. 


CA good filler used as a putty on iron 
castings may be made as follows : Take, 
by weight, 3 parts of stiff keg lead, 5 
parts of black filler, 2 parts of whiting, 
5 parts of pulverized silica and make 
into a paste with a mixture of one part 
each of coach japan, rubbing varnish 
and turpentine. 






































270 


Rubber Bands in Kite Balancing 
Strings 

Kite flyers will find it to their ad¬ 
vantage to place rubber bands of suit¬ 



able size in the balancing strings to the 
kite, as shown in the illustration. This 
will prevent a “break-away” and also 
make the right pull, if only two bands 
are put in the lower strings.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Thos. DeLoof, Grand Rapids, 
Michigan. 


An Aid in Sketching 

Sketching requires some little train¬ 
ing, but with the apparatus here il¬ 
lustrated an inexperienced person can 
obtain ex¬ 
cellent re¬ 
sults. The 
apparatus is 
made of a 
box 8 in. 
G deep, 8 in. 
wide and 
about 1 ft. 
long. A dou¬ 
ble convex lens, G, is fitted in a brass 
tube which should have a sliding fit 
in another shorter and larger tube 
fastened to the end of the box. A 
mirror, H, is set at an angle of 45 deg. 


in the opposite end of the box. This 
reflects the rays of light passing 
through the lens to the surface K, 
which may be either of ground or 
plain glass. The lid or cover E F pro¬ 
tects the glass and keeps the strong 
light out when sketching. The inside 
of the box and brass tube are painted 
a dull black. 

In use, the device is set with the 
lens tube directed toward the scene to 
be painted or sketched and the lens 
focused so the reflected picture will be 
seen in sharp detail on the glass. 
Select your colors and put them on 
the respective colors depicted on the 
glass. If you wish to make a pencil 
drawing, all you have to do is to fill 
in the lines in the picture on the 
ground glass. If a plain glass is used, 
place tracing paper on its surface, and 
the picture can be drawn as described. 


How to Make Miniature Electric Lamp 
Sockets 

A socket for a miniature lamp can be 
made as shown in the sketch. A brass 
spring wire is wound around the base 
of the threads on the lamp and an eye 
turned on each end to receive a screw 
and a binding-post, as shown in Fig. 
1. A piece of metal, preferably copper, 
is attached to a wood base as shown 
in Fig. 2 and the coil-spring socket 
fastened across it in the opposite direc¬ 
tion. Bend the wire so that the spring 
presses the lamp against the metal. If 
the wire fits the lamp loosely, remove 
the lamp and press the sides of the coil 
closer together. The metal parts can 



be attached to any smooth suriace of 
wood without making a regular base. 
—Contributed by Abner B. Shaw, No. 
Dartmouth, Mass. 















271 


Imitation Arms and Armor—Part V 


The preceeding chapters gave de¬ 
scriptions of making arms in imitation 
of ancient weapons, and now the am¬ 
ateur armorer must have some helmets 
to add to his collection. There is no 
limit to the size of the helmet, and it 
may be made as a model or full sized. 
In constructing helmets, a mass of clay 
of any kind that is easily workable and 
fairly stiff, is necessary, says the Eng¬ 
lish Mechanic, London. It must be 
kept moist and well kneaded. A large 


The fleur-de-lis are slightly raised, as 
in bas-relief. To aid in getting the 
helmet in correct proportion on both 
sides, and over the crest on top, cut 
out the shape from a piece of wood, 
as shown in Fig. 3, with a keyhole saw. 
This wood being passed carefully and 
firmly over the clay will bring it into 
shape, and will also show where there 
may be any deficiencies in the model¬ 
ing, which can then be easily remedied 
by adding more clay. The cut-out 



Making the Clay Model and Three Helmet Designs 


board or several planks, joined closely 
together, on which to place the clay, 
will be necessary. The size of this 
board will depend on the size of the 
work that is intended to be modeled 
upon it. 

The way to make a helmet is de¬ 
scribed in the following method of pro¬ 
ducing a German morion, shown in 
Fig. 1. This helmet has fleur-de-lis in 
embossed work, and on each side is a 
badge of the civic regiment of the 
city of Munich. The side view of the 
helmet is shown in Fig. 1. 

The clay is put on the board and 
modeled into the shape shown in Fig. 
2 . This is done with the aid of a pair 
of compasses, a few clay-modeling 
tools, and the deft use of the fingers. 


pattern shown in Fig. 4 is the side out¬ 
line of the helmet. 

Scraps of thin, brown, wrapping 
paper are put to soak in a basin of 
water to which has been added about 
a tablespoonful of size melted and 
well stirred, or some thin glue, and 
left over night to soak. The paper 
should be torn in irregular shapes 
about as large as the palm of the hand. 
After the clay model is finished, give it 
a thin coat of oil—sweet or olive oil 
will answer the purpose very well. All 
being ready, the clay model oiled, and 
the basin of soaked paper near to hand, 
take up one piece of paper at a time 
and very carefully place it upon the 
model, pressing it well on the clay and 
into and around any crevices and pat- 



























































































































272 


terns, and continue until the clay is 
completely covered. 

This being done, give the paper a 
thin and even coating of glue, which 
must be quite hot and put on as quickly 


In Fig. 6 is shown an Italian casque 
of a foot soldier of the sixteenth cen¬ 
tury. This helmet may have the ap¬ 
pearance of being richly engraved as 
shown in one-half of the drawing, or, 





as possible. Put on a second layer of 
paper as carefully as before, then an¬ 
other coating of glue, and so on, until 
there are from four to six coats of 
glue and paper. When dry, the paper 
coating should be quite stout and 
strong enough for the helmet to be 
used for ornamental purposes. Before 
taking it off the model, which should 
be no difficult matter, owing to the 
clay being oiled, trim off any ragged 
edges of paper with a sharp knife, and 
smooth and finish all over with some 
fine sandpaper. The paper is then 
given a thin coat of glue and sections 
of tinfoil stuck on to give it a finished 
appearance. When the helmet is off 
the model, make holes with a small 
awl at equal distances, through which 
to insert some fancy brass nails, bend¬ 
ing the points over and flat against the 
inside of the helmet. 

A vizor helmet is shown in Fig. 5. 
This helmet has a movable vizor in the 
front that can be lifted up, a crest on 
top, and around the neck a narrow 
gorget which rests upon the wearer’s 
shoulders. The whole helmet, with the 
exception of the vizor, should be 
modeled and made in one piece. The 
vizor can then be made and put in place 
with a brass-headed nail on each side. 
The oblong slits in front of the vizor 
must be carefully marked out with a 
pencil and cut through with a knife or 
chisel. 


a few lines running 4 down, as seen in 
the other part of the sketch, will make 
it look neat. The band is decorated 
with brass studs. 

An Italian cabasset of the sixteenth 
century is shown in Fig. 7. This hel¬ 
met is elaborately decorated with fancy 
and round-headed nails, as shown in 
the design. 

In Fig. 8 is shown a large bassinet 
with a hinged vizor which comes very 
much forward, so as to allow the 
wearer to breathe freely. This helmet 
was worn about the sixteenth century, 
aiid was probably used for tilting and 
tournaments. 

A burgonet skull-cap of the seven¬ 
teenth century is shown in Fig. 9. The 
vizor is composed of a single bar of 
metal, square in shape, which slides up 
and down in an iron socket attached 
to the front of the helmet, and is held 
in any position by a thumbscrew as 
shown in the illustration. 

A hole in the peak of the helmet 
allows it to hang in front of the 
wearer’s face. This contrivance should 
be made of wood, the helmet to be 
modeled in three pieces, the skullcap, 
peak and lobster shell neck guard in 
one piece, and the ear guards in two 
pieces, one for each side. The center 
of the ear guards are perforated. All 
of the helmets are made in the same 
manner as described for Fig. 1. They 
are all covered with tinfoil. 




273 


How to Repair Linoleum 

A deep crack or fissure right in front 
of the kitchen cabinet spoiled the ap¬ 
pearance of the new linoleum. The 
damaged spot was removed with a 
sharp knife and from a left-over scrap 
a piece was cut of the same outline 
and size. The edges were varnished 
and then the patch was set in the 
open space. The linoleum was given 
a good coat of varnish making it more 
durable. When perfectly dry, the 
piecing could not be detected.—Con¬ 
tributed by Paul Keller, Indianapolis, 
Indiana. 


How to Make an Electric Stove 

The parts necessary for making an 
electric stove are: Two metal pie 
plates of the same size; 4 lb. of fire 
clay; two ordinary binding posts; 
about 1 lb. of mineral wool, or, if this 
cannot be obtained, thick sheet asbes¬ 
tos; one oblong piece of wood, 1 in. 
thick, 12 in. wide and 15 in. long; one 
small switch; one fuse block; about 80 
ft. of No. 22 gauge resistance wire,— 
German-silver wire is better, as it 
stands a higher temperature; two mid¬ 
dle-sized stove bolts with nuts; one 
glass tube, about % in - diameter 
and 9 in. long, which can be bought 
from a local druggist, and two large 
3-in. screws. 

If a neat appearance is desired, the 
wood can be thoroughly sandpapered 
on one side and the corners and edges 
rounded off on the upper side. Punch 
holes in one of the pie plates, as shown 
in Fig. 1'. The two holes, E and F, are 
on the rim and should be exactly on a 
line with the hole D punched in the 
center. The holes B and C are about 
3 in. apart and should be at equal dis¬ 
tances from the center hole D. The 
rim of the second plate is drilled to 
make two holes, AA, Fig. 2, that will 
match the holes E and F in the first 
plate, Fig. 1. A round collar of gal¬ 
vanized iron, FF, Fig. 4, 3 in. high, is 
made with a diameter to receive the 
first plate snugly. Two small flaps 
are cut and turned out and holes 


punched in their centers, AA, to re¬ 
ceive screws for holding it to the base. 
Two bolts are soldered in the holes E 
and F, Fig. 1, and used to hold the 



Fig.4 

Details of Electric Stove 


rims of both plates together, when they 
are placed in opposite positions, as 
shown in Fig. 4. This, will make an 
open space between the plates. The 
collar is then screwed to one end of 
the base, as shown in Fig. 2. 

Two holes are bored through the 
base to correspond with the holes D 
and A in the bottom plate. The glass 
tube is cut to make two pieces, each 
4% in. long. This can be done easily 
by filing a nick in the tube at the 
proper point and breaking it. These 
tubes are forced into the holes bored 
in the base, and, if the measurements 
are correct, should extend about % in. 
above the collar. The mineral wool, 
JJ, Fig. 4, is then packed down inside 
the collar, until it is within 1 in. of the 
top. This will allow the plate, Fig. 1, 
to rest on the wool and the ends of 
the glass tubes, GG, Fig. 4, to project 
through the holes D and A of the plate, 
Fig. 1. The rim of the plate should 
be level with the top edge of the collar. 
If asbestos is used, the sheets should 
be cut into disks having the same 
diameter as the inside of the collar, and 
holes cut to coincide with the holes D 
and A of the plate. The small scraps 
should be dampened and made into 
pulp to fill the space H, Fig. 4. The 
plate, Fig. 1, is held to the base by two 




























274 


screws which are run through the holes 
BC and take the position shown by 
DD, Fig. 4. 

The two binding-posts are attached 
on the base at D, Fig. 2, also the switch 
B and the fuse block C, holes being 
bored in the base to make the wire 
connections. The reverse side of the 
base, with slits cut for the wires, is 
shown in Fig. 3. The points marked 
BB are the glass tubes; AA, the holes 
leading to the switch; and C, the fuse 
block. The wires run through the 
glass tubes GG, Fig. 4, are allowed to 
project about 1 in. for connections. 

The best way to find the correct 
length of the resistance wire is to take 
a large clay or drain tile and wind the 
wire tightly around it, allowing a 
space between each turn. The tile is 
then set on its side with a block or 
brick under each end. It should not 
be set on end, as the turns of the wires, 
when heated, will slip and come in 
contact with each other, causing a short 
circuit. When the tile is in place, a 
short piece of fuse wire is fastened to 
each of its two ends. A 5-ampere fuse 
wire is about strong enough. A con¬ 
nection is made to these two wires 
from an electric-light socket. The 
wire will get hot but probably remain 
the same color. If this is the case, one 
of the feed wires is disconnected from 
the fuse wire and gradually moved 
farther down the coil until a point is 
found where the resistance wire glows 
a dull red. This point marks the 
proper length to cut it, as the wire 
should not be allowed to become any 


hotter. If the wire gets bright hot 
when the current is turned on, more 
wire should be added. The wire, is 
then made into a long coil by winding 
it around a large wire nail. .The coils 
should be open and about % in. apart. 

Next, the fire clay is moistened and 
well mixed, using care not to get it too 
wet. It should have the proper con¬ 
sistency to mould well. The clay, II, 
Fig. 4, is then packed in the first plate 
to a height of about % in. above the 
rim. While the clay is damp, one end 
of the coil is connected with the wire 
in the central glass tube, and the coil 
laid in a spiral winding on the damp 
clay, KK, and pressed into it. When 
this is done, the other end is connected 
to the wire projecting from the outer 
glass tube. As these connections can¬ 
not be soldered, the ends of the wires 
should be twisted closely together, so 
that the circuit will not become broken. 
Make sure that the coils of wire do 
not touch each other or the top plate. 
The fuse wire (about 5 amperes). is 
put into the fuse block, and wires with 
a socket adapter connected to the two 
binding-posts. The top plate is put in 
place and screwed down. This com¬ 
pletes the stove. 

It should be set aside in a warm 
place for a few days to dry out the 
packing. If it is not thoroughly dry, 
steam will form when the current is 
applied. It should not be left heated 
in this condition. The top plate is 
used when cooking and removed when 
making toast.—Contributed by R. H. 
Cnonyn, St. Catherines, Can. 


How to Make Weights for Athletes 


Many times boys would like to make 
their own shots and weights for ath- 



Mold for the Lead 


letic stunts, but do not know how to go 
about it to cast the metal. In making 
a lead sphere as shown in the illustra¬ 
tion, it is not necessary to know the 
method of molding. The round lead 
weight for shot-putting or hammer- 
throwing can be cast in a hollow card¬ 
board or pressed-paper ball, sold in 
department and toy stores for 10 cents. 
Cut a Y 2 -in. hole in the ball as shown 
in Fig. 1 and place it with the hole up 










275 


in damp sand and press or tamp the 
sand lightly around the ball as shown 
in the section, Fig. 2. Cover over 
about 1 in. deep. A wood plug in¬ 
serted in the hole will prevent any sand 
falling inside. When the sand is 
tamped in and the plug removed, it 
leaves a gate for the metal. Pour 
melted lead into the gate until it is 
full, then, when cool, shake it out from 
the sand and remove the charred paper. 
A file can be used to remove any rough 
places. The dry paper hall prevents 
any sputtering of the hot lead.—Con¬ 
tributed by W. A. Jaquythe, Rich¬ 
mond, Cal. 


The prints should be placed face up 
on the cloth, and the frame set near a 
window. If the stretcher is made in 



Cloth on the Frame 


Removing Pies from Pans 

Sometimes the juices from a hot pie 
make it stick to the pan so tightly that 
a knife blade must be run under to cut 
it loose. If a knife with a flexible 
blade is not used, the pie will be dam¬ 



aged. If the pie pans are provided 
with the simple attachment shown in 
the accompanying sketch, the baked 
dough can be separated from the tin 
with one revolution of the cutter. The 
cutter is made from a piece of heavy 
tin, bent to the same outline as the in¬ 
side of the pan and pivoted at its 
center. 


Stretcher for Drying Photograph 
Prints 

A quick and convenient way to dry 
prints is to place them on a cheese¬ 
cloth stretcher. Such a stretcher can 
be made on a light wood frame, con¬ 
structed of %-in. square material in 
any size, but 12 by 24 in. is large 
enough. The end pieces B are fast¬ 
ened on top of the long side pieces A, 
and the cheesecloth C stretched and 
tacked over them, as shown. 


this way, the air can enter from both 
top and bottom, and the prints will dry 
rapidly. Several of these frames can 
be stacked and a large number of 
prints thus dried at the same time.— 
Contributed by Andrew G. Thorne, 
Louisville, Ky. 


A Temporary Funnel 

The amateur photographer often has 
some solution which he desires to put 
into a bottle which his glass funnel 
will not fit, says the Photographic 
Times. The funnel made by rolling 
up a piece of paper usually allows half 
of the solution to run down the out¬ 
side of the bottle, thereby causing the 
amateur to be dubbed a “musser.” A 
better way is to take an ordinary en¬ 
velope and cut it off as shown by the 
dotted lines. Then clip a little off the 



Paper Funnel 


point, open out, and you have a funnel 
that will not give any trouble. It is 
cheap and you can afford to throw it 
away when dirty, thereby saving time 
and washing. 




















276 


An Electric Engine 

The parts of this engine are sup¬ 
ported on a base % in. thick, 4 in. wide 
and 7 in. long. The upright B, Fig. 1, 



Fig.I Fig.2 Fig.3 

Shaft Turned by Magnetism 


which is V 2 in. thick and 3 in. high, is 
secured across the base about one-third 
of the distance from one end and fas¬ 
tened with a wood screw put through 
from the under side. The magnet 
core C is made of a carriage bolt, 2V 2 
in. long, which is fastened in a hole in 
the top part of the upright B so that 
the end C will protrude slightly. Be¬ 
fore placing the bolt in the hole of the 
upright, slip on two cardboard wash¬ 
ers, each 1 in. in diameter, one at the 
head end and the other against the 
upright B. Wrap a thin piece of paper 
around the bolt between the washers 
and wind the space full of No. 22- 
gauge magnet wire, allowing each end 
to project for connections. 

The driving arm D, Figs. 1 and 3, is 
made of a piece of soft sheet iron, y 2 in. 
wide and 3 in. long. A small block is 
fastened to the lower end of the metal 
and pivoted between two uprights, % 
in. high, which are fastened to the 
base. The uprights on each side of 
the block are better shown in Fig. 3. 

Two supports, each % in. thick and 
3 in. high, are fastened with screws 
about half way between the end of the 
base and the upright B, Fig. 1. The 
end view of these supports is shown in 
Fig. 2, at GG. A %-in. hole is bored 
through the top part of each support 
so they will be in a line for the axle. 
The axle is made of a piece of steel 
% in. in diameter and about 4 in. long. 
An offset is bent in the center, as 
shown, for the crank. A small fly¬ 
wheel is attached to one end of the 
shaft. The connecting rod E, Fig. 1, 
is made of wood and fastened to the 
upper end of the driving arm D with a 
small screw or nail. The contact F is 


made of a strip of copper, % in* wide. 
This is to open and close the circuit 
when the engine is running. The con¬ 
nections are made as shown in Fig. 1. 

Connect two dry cells to the bind¬ 
ing-posts and turn the flywheel. The 
current passing through the magnet 
pulls the driving arm toward the bolt 
head, which gives the shaft a half turn. 
The turning of the shaft pulls the arm 
away from the copper piece F, caus¬ 
ing a break in the current. As the 
shaft revolves, the arm is again 
brought back against the copper strip 
F, thus the current is broken and ap¬ 
plied at each revolution of the shaft.— 
Contributed by S. W. Herron, Le 
Mars, Iowa. 


Child’s Home-Made Swing Seat 

A very useful swing or seat for chil¬ 
dren can be made from a box or pack¬ 
ing case. Procure a box of the right 
size and saw it out in the shape shown 
in the illustration. The apron or board 
in front slides on the two front ropes. 
The board can be raised to place the 



child in the box and to remove him. 
The ropes are fastened to the box by 
tying knots in their ends and driving 
staples over them. 























277 


Clay Flower Pots Used for Bird Houses 


A novel use of the common garden 
flower pot may be made by enlarging 
the small opening at the bottom with a 
pair of pliers, and carefully breaking 
the clay away until the opening is 
large enough to admit a small bird. 

Place the pot, bottom side up, on a 
board, 3 in. wider than the diameter 
of the largest pot used, and fasten it 
to the board with wood cleats and 
brass screws. Fit the cleats as close 
as possible to the sides of the pot. One 
or more pots may be used, as shown in 
the sketch. 

The board on which the pots are 
fastened is nailed or screwed to a post 
or pole 10 or 12 ft. in height. The 
board is braced with lath or similar 
strips of wood, making a framework 
suitable for a roost. In designing the 
roost, the lath can be arranged to make 
it quite attractive, or the braces may 
be of twigs and branches of a tree to 
make a rustic effect.—Contributed by 
William F. Stecher, Dorchester, Mass. 



Pots Fastened to the Board 


Location of a Gas Meter 

The gas meter should not be located 
in a warm place or the gas will expand 
before the meter measures it and the 
gas bill will be proportionately in¬ 
creased. Gas expands by about 1-491 
part of its volume for each deg. F. that 
it is heated. If the meter is warmed 10 
deg. F., it will make the gas cost over 
2 per cent more, without any corre¬ 
sponding benefit. 


How to Make Rope Grills 

Beautiful and useful household orna¬ 
ments, grills and gratings for doors, 
windows, shelves, odd corners, etc., 
can be made by the following method 
at a slight cost and by anyone pos¬ 
sessing a little ingenuity. The mate¬ 
rials required are rope or, preferably, 
common window cord (called sash 
cord) about -fy in. in diameter; ordi¬ 
nary glue, paraffin and paint or varnish. 


A few strips of wood or molding are 
very handy to use around the edges. 

The design must be considered first 
and when one is selected, if it is other 
than straight lines, adopt the method 
described. 

Take a smooth flat board and lay out 
the design or designs which, when 
combined, will produce the pattern 
desired. Drive finishing nails at the 
angle points or along curves as re¬ 
quired. Coat the board along the lines 
of the patterns with melted paraffin, 
using an ordinary painter’s brush to 
prevent the ropes from sticking to the 
boards after they are soaked in glue 
and run around the nails. 

Soak the sash cord in common glue 
sizing for a short time, then bend or 
twist it along or around the lines de¬ 
sired, as shown in Fig. 1, and give it 
time to dry. The bottom part of the 
sketch, Fig. 1, shows a method of 
winding the rope on a round stick to 
make circular objects. Wind the de- 















278 




>g>6o<x 



II1II 11 II 

rnm n i n i f r 



-I i 1 1 1 1 1 ' 1 

i Mi ii i 11111 






Fig. 2—Designs for Grills 



sired number of turns and when dry, 
cut and glue them together. 



Fig. 1—Method of Forming the Rope 


In Fig. 2, six designs are shown. 
These suggest ideas in making up com¬ 
binations or in plain figures and the 
number is limited only by the ingenu¬ 
ity of the designer.—Contributed by 
Geo. M. Harrer, Lockport, N. Y. 


A Simple and Effective Filter 

Procure an ordinary lamp chimney 
and fit two or three thicknesses of 
cheese¬ 
cloth over 
the end of it. 

Press a tuft 
of absorbent 
cotton into 
the small 
part of the 
neck to a 
depth of 
about 3 in. 

Insert the 
chimney in a 
hole cut in a 
wood shelf 
used as a 
support. Pour the water in until the 
filter is filled, when it will be observed 
that any organic matter, chips of iron 
rust, etc., will be retained by the cotton. 
The fine organic matter may penetrate 
the cotton for about 1 in., but no 
farther. The resultant filtered water 
will be clear and pure. 


CThe cutting point of a tool should 
never be below the centers. 






































































































279 


Imitation Arms and Armor—Part VI 


A mass of any kind of clay that is 
easily modeled and fairly stiff must 
be prepared and kept moist and well 
kneaded for making the models over 
which paper is formed to make the 
shape of the articles illustrated in 
these sketches. A modeling board 
must be made of one large board or 
several pieces joined closely together 
upon which to work the clay, says the 
English Mechanic, London. The size 
of the board depends upon the size of 
the work to be made. 


torn in irregular shapes to the size of 
the palm of the hand and put to soak 
in a basin of water in which a table¬ 
spoonful of size has been dissolved. If 
size cannot be obtained from your lo¬ 
cal painter, a weak solution of glue 
will do equally well. All being ready, 
and the clay model oiled, take up one 
piece of paper at a time and very care¬ 
fully place it on the surface of the 
model, pressing it on well and into and 
around any crevices and patterns. Con¬ 
tinue this operation until the clay 



Armor and Clay Models 


An open chamfron of the fifteenth 
century is shown in Fig. 1. This 
piece of horse armor, which was used 
in front of a horse’s head, makes a 
splendid center for a shield on which 
are fixed the swords, etc., and is a 
good piece for the amateur armorer to 
try his hand on in the way of modeling 
in clay or papier mache work. The 
opening for the animal to put his head 
into is semicircular, and the sides do 
not cover the jaws. As the main part 
of this armor is worn in front of the 
head the extreme depth is about 4 in. 
The entire head piece must be modeled 
in clay with the hands, after which it 
is covered with a thin and even coating 
of sweet or pure olive oil. A day be¬ 
fore making the clay model some pieces 
of thin, brown wrapping paper are 


model is completely covered on every 
part. This being done, give the paper 
a thin and even coating of glue, which 
must be quite hot and laid on as 
quickly as possible. Lay on a second 
layer of paper as carefully as before, 
then another coat of glue, and so on 
until there are five or six coats of glue 
and paper. When this is dry it will 
be strong enough for all ornamental 
purposes. The ragged edges of the 
paper are trimmed off with a sharp 
knife and the whole surface smoothed 
with fine sandpaper. Then carefully 
glue on sections of tinfoil to give the 
armor the appearance of steel. The 
armor is now removed from the model. 

A mitten gauntlet of the fifteenth 
century is shown in Fig. 2. This can 
be made in one piece, with the ex- 



























280 


ception of the thumb shield, which is 
separate. The thumb shield is at¬ 
tached to the thumb of an old glove 
which is fastened with round headed 
nails on the inside of the gauntlet. 



The part covering the wrist is a cir¬ 
cular piece, but the back is not neces¬ 
sary as it would not be seen when the 
gauntlet is hanging in its place. 

In Fig. 3 is shown a gauntlet of the 
seventeenth century with separately 
articulated fingers. This gauntlet may 
be molded in one piece, except the 
thumb and fingers, which must be made 
separately and fastened with the thumb 
shield to the leather glove that is at¬ 
tached to the inside of the gauntlet, 
the same as in Fig. 2. 

A breastplate and tassets of the 
sixteenth century are shown in Fig. 
4. The tassets are separate and at¬ 
tached to the front plate with straps 
and buckles, as shown in the sketch. 
There is a belt around the waist which 
helps to hold the back plate on. At¬ 
tached to the back of the plate would 
be two short straps at the shoulder. 
These are passed through the buckles 
shown at the top right and left-hand 
corners of the front plate. For decor¬ 
ative purposes the back plate need not 
be made, and therefore it is not de¬ 
scribed. The method of making armor 
is the same as of making helmets, but 
as larger pieces are formed it is well 
to use less clay owing to the bulk and 
weight. 

An arrangement is shown in Fig. 5 
to reduce the amount of clay used. 
This triangular-shaped support, which 


can be made in any size, is placed on 
the modeling board or bench and cov¬ 
ered with clay. This will make the 
model light and easy to move around, 
and will require less clay. It is not 
necessary to have smooth boards; the 
rougher the better, as the surface will 
hold the clay. The clay forms modeled 
up ready to receive the patches 
of brown paper on the surface are 
shown in Figs. 6 and 7. 

A German fluted armor used at the 
beginning of the sixteenth century is 
shown in Fig. 8. The breastplate and 
tassets of this armor are supposed to 
be in one piece, but for convenience in 
making it will be found best to make 
them separately and then glue them 
together after they are taken from the 
model. A narrow leather belt placed 
around the armor will cover the joint. 
Fluted armor takes its name from a 
series of corrugated grooves, % in. in 
depth, running down the plate. A 
piece of board, cut into the shape 
shown in Fig. 9, will be very useful 
for marking out the fluted lines. 


Home-Made Hand Vise 

A vise for holding small articles 
while filing can be made as shown in 

the illus- 
t r a t i o n. 
The vise 
consists of 
three 
pieces o f 
wood, two 
for the 
jaws and 
one a 
wedge. 
The hinge for connecting the two jaws 
is made of four small screw eyes, two in 
each jaw. When locating the place for 
the screw eyes, place the two in one 
jaw so they will fit between the two of 
the other jaw. Put a nail through the 
eyes when the jaws are matched to¬ 
gether and they are ready for the wedge 
in clamping the article to be filed.— 
Contributed by John G. Buxton, Re¬ 
dondo Beach, Calif. 



























281 


Detector for Slight Electrical Charges 

A thin glass bottle is thoroughly 
cleaned and fitted with a rubber stop¬ 
per. A hole is made through the center 
of the stopper large enough to admit a 
small brass rod. The length of this rod 
will be governed by the shape of the 
bottle, but 3% in. will be about right. 
The bottom of the rod is bent and two 
pieces of aluminum foil, each about % 
in. wide and % i n - long, are glued to it. 
The two pieces of foil, fastened to the 
rod, are better shown in Fig. 2. Fasten 
a polished brass ball to the top of the 
rod, and the instrument is ready for 
use. Place the article which you wish 
to test near the ball, and if it holds a 


Fig. I 

Aluminum Foil in a Bottle 

slight electrical charge, the two pieces 
of foil will draw together. If it does 
not hold a charge, the foils will not 
m0 ye.—Contributed by Ralph L. La 
Rue, Goshen, N. Y. 


Fishing through Ice with a Tip-Up 

The tip-up, used for signaling the 
fisherman when a fish is caught, is 
made of a ^-in. pine board, about 15 
in. long, 2 1 /2 in. wide at one end and 
narrowing down to about 1 in at 
the other. At a point 6 in. from 
the smaller end, the board should 
be cut slightly wider and a ^-in. hole 


bored through it. Two or three wrap¬ 
pings of fine copper wire may be 
wound around the board on each side 



Tip-Up in Place 


of the hole to give added strength. 
Both ends of the board should be 
notched deeply. 

A long gash is cut in the ice and 
then a round hole is made with a 
chisel, as this will cut under the water 
without splashing. The chipped ice 
can be removed with a pail. A rod or 
round stick of wood is passed through 
the hole in the tip-up and placed 
across the round hole, as shown in the 
illustration. 

The fishhook is baited in the usual 
way and hung on a line from the short 
end of the tip-up. When a fish is 
hooked, the other end will tip up and 
signal the fisherman. Any number of 
holes can be cut in the ice and a tip-up 
used in each, thus enabling one person 
to take care of as many lines. 

Home-Made Candle Holder 

The candlestick or holder shown 
in the illustration is made of an ordi¬ 
nary tin can, 
such as is used 
for canning 
salmon or pot¬ 
ted ham. Three 
triangular cuts 
are made in 
the cover or 
bottom of the 
can and the 
points turned 
up about the 
candle. The 
can may be 
bronzed, silvered, enameled or other¬ 
wise decorated, thus making it.orna¬ 
mental as well as useful.—Contributed 
by Mrs. A. M. Bryan, Corsicana, 
Texas. 
























282 


How to Make a Match Holder of Wood and Metal 


A very simple piece of art craft 
work is easily made, as follows: Secure 
a piece of paper and upon it draw the 
outline and design, as indicated in the 



accompanying sketch. The size may 
be made to suit the taste of the worker. 
A good size is 5 in. wide by 6 in. long 
over all. The metal holder should be 
proportioned to this size, as shown. 

Having completed the drawing, take 
a piece of thin wood, % or ^ in. thick, 
and trace upon it the design and out¬ 
line, using a piece of carbon paper. A 
couple of thumb tacks should be used 
to fasten the paper and design in place. 
Put the tacks in the lines of the de¬ 
sign so that the holes will not show in 
the finished piece. Any kind of wood 
will do. Basswood or butternut, or 
even pine, will do as well as the more 
expensive woods. 


Next prepare the metal holder. This 
may be made of brass or copper and 
need not be of very heavy gauge—No. 
22 is plenty heavy enough. The easiest 
way to get the shape of the metal is to 
make a paper pattern of the develop¬ 
ment. The illustration shows how this 
will look and the size of the parts for 
the back dimensioned above. Trace 
this shape on the metal with the carbon 
paper and cut it out by means of metal 
shears. Polish the metal, using pow¬ 
dered pumice and lye, then with a nail, 
punch the holes, through which small 
round-head brass screws are to be 
placed to hold the metal to the wood 
back. Carefully bend the metal to 
shape by placing it on the edge of a 
board and putting another board on 
top and over the lower edge so as to 
keep the bending true. 

The wood back may be treated in 
quite a variety of ways. If soft wood, 
such as basswood or pine was used, it 
may be treated by burning with the 
pyrography outfit. If no outfit is at 
hand a very satisfactory way is to take 
a knife and cut a very small V-shaped 
groove around the design and border so 
as to keep the colors from “running.” 
Next stain the leaves of the conven¬ 
tional plant with a little green wood 
dye and with another dye stain the 
petals of the flower red. Malachite and 
mahogany are the colors to use. Rub a 
coat of weathered oil stain over the 
whole back and wipe dry with a cloth. 
The green and red are barbarously bril¬ 
liant when first put on, but by covering 
them at the same time the background 
is colored brown, they are “greyed” in 
a most pleasing manner. When it has 
dried over night, put a coat or two of 
wax and polish over the wood as the 
directions on the can suggest. 

The metal holder may next be fas¬ 
tened in place. 

If one has some insight in carving, 
the background might be lowered and 
the plant modeled, the whole being fin¬ 
ished in linseed oil. If carving is con¬ 
templated, hard woods such as cherry 
or mahogany should be used. 














283 


Protecting the Fingers from Chemicals Homemade Telegraph Key 


The finger nails and fingers may be 
easily protected from stains of chem¬ 
icals by coating them with a wax made 
up as follows: Melt white wax in the 
same manner as melting glue. This 
may be done by cutting the wax into 
small pieces, placing them in a vessel 
and setting the vessel in boiling water. 
To each ounce of melted wax thor¬ 
oughly stir in 1 dr. of pure olive oil. 
The fingers should be dipped into the 
wax while it is in a liquid state. This 
will form a coating that will permit 
the free use of the fingers, yet pro¬ 
tects the skin from the chemicals. 
It is useful for photographers. 


Combined Turning Rings and Swings 

This trapeze, with rings for the large 
boys and a swing for the smaller ones, 
can be made on the same standards. 
Instead of the usual two short ropes, 
tied and bolted through the top cross- 
timber, bore two holes large enough 
for the ropes to pass through easily. 
Pass the rope along the crosspiece and 
down the post and tie it to cleats nailed 
at a height that can be easily reached. 

At the ends of the crosspiece drive 
two nails, allowing them to project 1 
or 2 in. This will keep the rope from 
slipping off when the rings and swing 
are raised and lowered. All sharp 
edges should be sandpapered to pre¬ 



vent the rope from being cut. A board 
with notches cut in the ends will make 
a good swing board which can be re¬ 
moved instantly.—Contributed by W. 
A. Jaquythe, Richmond, Cal. 


A piece of wood, y 2 in. thick, 2 in. 
wide and 5 in. long, is used for the 
base of this instrument. Two wire 



Key and Connections 


nails, each 1 in. long, are used for 
the cores of the magnets. Each nail 
is wound with three or four layers of 
fine insulated magnet wire, about No. 
25 gauge, similar to that used in elec¬ 
tric bells, leaving about *4 in. of the 
end bare so that they may be driven 
into the wood base. The connections 
for the coils are shown in the sketch, 
at A. 

About 1 in. behind the coils is fas¬ 
tened a small block of wood, the top 
of which is just even with the top of 
the nails in the coils. A piece of tin, 
cut in the shape of the letter T, is 
fastened with two screws to the top 
of this block, and the end bent slightly 
so as to clear the top of the nails about 

32 in. 

"The key lever is cut from a thin 
piece of wood, in the shape shown in 
the sketch, and pivoted in a slotted 
block which is used as a base for the 
key. A piece of bare copper wire is 
fastened along the under side of the 
key, as shown by the dotted lines. A 
rubber band, passing over the end of 
the key and attached to the base with 
a tack, acts as a spring to keep the key 
open. A small piece of tin is fastened 
to the base under the knob of the key. 
This is for making the contact between 
the copper on the key and the wires 
from the coils, when the key is pushed 
down.—Contributed by W. H. Lynas. 


CBicycle trousers-guards make excel¬ 
lent sleeve bands when the cuffs are 
turned back and rolled above the 
elbows. 















284 


Imitation Arms and Armor—Part VII 


The helmets, breastplates and gaunt¬ 
lets described in parts V and VI can be 
used in making up a complete model 



*M©. I . 

Full Suit of Armor 


for a full suit of armor of any size, as 
shown in Fig. 1. All of the parts for 
the armor have been described, except 
that for the legs. Figure 2 shows how 
the armor is modeled on the side of 
the left leg. The clay is modeled as 
described in previous chapters, the 
paper covering put on, and the tinfoil 
applied in imitation of steel. The chain 
mail seen between and behind the tas- 
sets is made by sewing small steel 
rings on a piece of cloth as shown in 
Fig. 3. These rings may be purchased 
at a hardware store or harness shop. 

The whole figure when completed 


is placed on a square box covered with 
red or green baize. The armor should 
be supported by a light frame of wood 
built up on the inside, says the Eng¬ 
lish Mechanic, London. Two vertical 
pieces are firmly attached to the box 
so they will extend up inside the legs, 
and at the top of them is attached a 
crosspiece on which is placed a verti¬ 
cal stick high enough to carry the hel¬ 
met. The two lower pieces must be 
built up and padded out with straw, 
then covered with red cloth or baize 
to represent the legs. 

In making up the various pieces for 
a full model it will be found very con¬ 
venient to use rope, a stout cord or 
strings in making up the patterns on 
the parts. Instead of using brass¬ 
headed nails, brass paper fasteners will 
be found useful. These can be pur¬ 
chased at a stationery store. Secure 
the kind having a round brass head 
from which hang two brass tongues. 
These are pushed through a hole and 
spread out flat on the opposite side. 
Other materials can be used in the 
place of tinfoil to represent steel. Sil¬ 
ver paper will do very well, but if 
either the tinfoil or silver paper are 
found difficult to manipulate, go over 
the armor with a coat of silver paint 
put on with a brush. When dry give 
the surface a coat of varnish. 


A Home-Made Tripod Holder 

An inexpensive tripod holder, one 
that will prevent the tripod from slip¬ 
ping on a smooth floor, and prevent 
the points from doing damage to the 
polished surface or puncturing an ex¬ 
pensive rug or carpet, can be made in 
a few minutes’ time, says Camera 
Craft. 

Secure two strips of wood, or ordi¬ 
nary plaster laths will do, and plane 
them down to a thickness of 3/16 in., 
for the sake of lightness. Cut them to 
a length oi 40 in. and round ofif the 
ends to improve their appearance. 
Take the piece shown in Fig. 1 and 
















. 285 


drill a V±-in. hole in the center, and 
eight small holes, 1 in. apart, at each 
end. In one end of the piece, Fig. 2 , 
make the same series of eight small 
holes and, in the other end, drill six 
%-in. holes, 3 in. apart. A 14 -in. flat¬ 
headed carriage bolt, about 1 in. long, 
completes the equipment. 

The two pieces are bolted together, 
not too tight, and the points of the 
tripod legs inserted in their respective 
small holes. So set up, there is abso¬ 
lutely no danger of one of the legs 
slipping out of position. By moving 
the position of the bolt from one to 
another of the larger holes in the strip, 
Fig. 2, almost any desired inclination 
of the camera can be secured. 

The same sort of simple apparatus 
built slightly stronger, and with a 


small caster under each of the three 
series of small holes, makes an excel¬ 



lent tripod clamp for use when the 
camera has to be shifted about, as in 
portraiture and the like. 


How to Weave a Shoestring Watch Fob 


Having procured a pair of ordinary 
shoestrings, take both ends of one of 
them and force the ends through the 
middle of the other, leaving a loop l 1 /^ 
in. long, as shown in Fig. 2. In this 
sketch, A is the first string and B is 
the second, doubled and run through 
the web of A. Take hold of the loop 
and turn it as shown in Fig. 2, allow¬ 
ing the four ends to hang in four di¬ 
rections. Start with one end,' the one 
marked A, in Fig. 1, for instance, and 
lay it over the one to the right. Then 
take B and lay it over A, and the one 
beneath C; lay C over B and the one 
under D, and then lay D over C and 
stick the end under A. Then draw all 
four ends up snugly. Commence the 
next layer by laying the end A back 
over B and D; D over A and C; C 
over D and B, then B over C and the 
end stuck under A. Proceed in the 
same manner and keep on until about 
1% in. of the ends remain unwoven. 
Four pins stuck through each corner 
and into the layers will hold the ends 
from coming apart. The ends of the 
strings are raveled out so as to make a 
tassel. This will make a square fob 


which will appear as shown in Fig. 4. 

A round fob is made in a similar 
way, taking the same start as for the 
square fob, but instead of reversing 



Fobs Made from Shoestrings 


the ends of each alternate layer, al¬ 
ways lap one string, as at A in Fig. 3, 
over the one to its right, as B, slipping 













286 


the last end of the four strings under 
and tightening all, as in making the 
square fob. Fasten the ends with pins 
and ravel out for a tassel. The round 
fob is shown in Fig. 5. 

A fob in the shape of a horseshoe 
can be made by taking four shoestrings 
and tying a small string around the 
middle of them, then weaving the lay¬ 
ers both ways from the point where 
the strings are tied. A loop, l 1 /^ in. 
long, is left out at the center before 


starting on one side. The loop is for 
attaching the fob to the watch. After 
the weaving is complete and the tassel 
ends made, a small stiff wire is forced 
through the center to form the shape 
of a horseshoe. 

Other designs can be made in the 
same manner. Strings of different 
colors will make up a very pretty fob, 
especially if silk strings are used.—Con¬ 
tributed by John P. Rupp, Monroe¬ 
ville, Ohio. 


How to Make a Table Mat of Leather 


The table mat, the design of which 
is shown herewith, is to be made of 
leather. It may be made of Russian 
calf and the background modeled down 



as has been described in several previ¬ 
ous articles dealing with leather work. 
To do this the leather is moistened 
on the back side just enough to make 
the leather take the impression of the 
tool, but not enough to make the mois¬ 
ture show through on the face. Any 
smooth piece of steel, such as a nut 
pick, that will not cut or scratch the 
leather and will make a V-shaped de¬ 
pression will do. 

A second method is to secure a piece 
of sheepskin and, using the reverse 


side, outline the design by means of 
a pyrographer’s outfit. This manner 
of treating leather is so common that 
it needs no description. 

A third method is to secure a piece 
of sheep or goat skin, trace the de¬ 
sign on the reverse side by means of 
carbon paper, and put the outline and 
design in with brush and stains such as 
are sold for this purpose. 

The accompanying pattern shows 
but one-fourth of the mat. Draw the 
one-fourth on paper to the size desired 
and then fold on lines A and B, tracing 
this one-fourth on the other parts by 
the insertion of double-surfaced carbon 
paper. 

On the calfskin the pattern is to be 
held on the leather and the tool worked 
over the pattern to get the outline 
transferred. After this the pattern is 
to be removed and the leather modeled. 


Sad Iron Polisher 

A small amount of wax is necessary 
on an iron for successful work. The 
wax is usually applied by hand to the 
heated sur¬ 
face of the 
iron. A 
much better 
and handier 
way is to 
bore five or 
six holes in 
one end of 
the ironing board to a depth of half 








287 


its thickness, filling them with wax, 
beeswax or paraffin, and covering 
them over with two thicknesses of 
muslin. 

The rubbing of the hot iron over 
this cloth absorbs just enough of the 
wax to make the iron work smoothly. 
When the supply of wax is exhausted, 
it can be easily renewed.—Contribut¬ 
ed by A. A. Houghton, Northville, 
Mich. 



Making Coins Stick to Wood by 
Vacuum 

Take a quarter and place it flat 
against a vertical surface of wood such 
as the side of a book¬ 
case, door facing or 
door panel, and strike 
it hard with a down¬ 
ward sliding motion, 
pressing it against 
the wood. Take the 
hand away and the 
coin will remain on 
the woodwork. The 
striking and pressure 
expel the air be¬ 
tween the quarter and the wood, thus 
forming a vacuum sufficient to hold 
the coin. 



Simple and Safe Method for Sending 
Coins by Mail 

Sending coins by mail is not as a 
rule advisable, but sometimes it be¬ 



• 

• 

; 

• 

• 

• 

\ i i 

,> ; i 

<' C * * 

t 

• 

• 

i 

i 

£ 

• 

1 

i 

9 

1 




1 

• 

• 


How the Paper is Folded 


comes necessary, and usually a regular 
coin mailer is not available. A very 
simple and secure way to wrap a coin 
or coins for mailing is as follows: Pro¬ 
cure a piece of heavy paper, nearly as 
wide as the envelope is long, and about 
12 in. long. Fold on the dotted lines 
shown by A and B in the sketch, and 
slip the coin in the pocket thus formed. 
Fold together on lines C, D, E and F, 
making the last two folds wide enough 
to fit snugly in the envelope. This 
method holds the coin in the center of 
the envelope where it cannot work 
around and cut through the edges.— 
Contributed by O. J. Thompson, Pe¬ 
tersburg, Ill. 


Mounting Photographs in Plaster Plaques 


Purchase a few pounds of plaster of 
paris from your local druggist and se¬ 
lect a dish of the desired shape in which 
to make your cast. The size of the 
dish will depend on the size of the 
print to be mounted. Select the print 
you wish to mount, those on matte pa¬ 
per will work best, and after wetting, 
place it face down in the dish, press 
into place and remove all drops of 
water with a soft cloth. Be sure and 
have the print in the center of the dish. 
Earthen dishes will be found more 
convenient, although tin ones can be 
used with good success, says Photo¬ 
graphic Times. 

Mix some of the plaster in clear 


water so it will be a little thick. 
Enough plaster should be mixed to 
cover the bottom of the dish about % 
in. thick. Pour the plaster into the 
dish over the print and allow to stand 
until it becomes quite hard. The cast 
can then be removed and the print 
should be fast to it. If the print or 
plaster is inclined to stick, take a knife 
and gently pry around the edges and 
it can be removed without breaking. 

Prints of any size may be used by 
having the mold or dish large enough 
to leave a good margin. This is a very 
important point as it is the margin that 
adds richness to all prints. Platinum 
or blueprint papers work well, but any 







288 


kind that will not stick may be used. 
After the plaster has thoroughly dried, 
any tint may be worked on the margin 
by the use of water colors; if blueprints 
are used, it is best to leave a plain white 
margin. 


Iron Rest for an Ironing Board 

A flatiron rest can be made on an 
ironing-board by driving a number of 
large tacks 
into one end 
of the board. 
The tacks 
should be 
about 1 in. 
apart and 
driven in 
only part 
way, leaving 
about % in. remaining above the sur¬ 
face of the board. The hot iron will 
not burn the wood and it cannot slip 
off the tacks. This iron rest is always 
with the board and ready when wanted. 
—Contributed by Beatrice Oliver, New 
York, N. Y. 


Instantaneous Crystallization 

Dissolve 150 parts of hyposulphite 
of soda in 15 parts of water and pour 
the solution slowly into a. test tube 
which has been warmed in boiling 
water, filling the 
same about one- 
half full. Dis¬ 
solve in another 
glass 100 parts 
of acetate of 
soda in 15 parts 
of boiling water. 
Pour this solu¬ 
tion slowly on 
top of the first in 
such a way that 
it forms an up¬ 
per layer, with¬ 
out mixing the 
solutions. The two solutions are then 
covered over with a thin layer of boil¬ 
ing water and allowed to cool. 

Lower into the test tube a wire, at 


the extremity of which is fixed a small 
crystal of hyposulphite of soda. The 
crystal traverses the solution of acetate 
without causing trouble, but crystalli¬ 
zation will immediaely set in as soon 
as it touches the lower hyposulphite of 
soda solution, as shown at the left in 
the sketch. 

When the hyposulphite of soda solu¬ 
tion becomes crystallized, lower in the 
upper solution a crystal of acetate of 
soda suspended by another wire, as 
shown in the right of the sketch, and 
this will crystallize the same as the 
other solution. 


Decoloration of Flowers by Fumes of 
Sulphur 

Dissolve some sulphur in a small 
dish which will inflame by contact with 
air thus forming 
sulphuric acid 
fumes. Cover 
the dish with a 
conical chimney 
made of tin and 
expose to the up¬ 
per opening the 
flowers that are 
to be decolored. 
The action is 
very rapid and 
in a short time myrtle, violets, bell 
flowers, roses, etc., will be rendered 
perfectly white. 


How to Preserve Egg Shells 

Many naturalists experience diffi¬ 
culty in preserving valuable egg shells. 
One of the most effective ways of pre¬ 
serving them is as follows: After the 
egg is blown, melt common beeswax 
and force it into the shell with a dis¬ 
carded fountain pen filler. Set in a 
cool place until the wax hardens. The 
most delicate shells treated in this man¬ 
ner can be handled without fear of 
breaking, and the transparency of the 
wax will not alter the color, shading, 
or delicate tints of the egg.—Contrib¬ 
uted by L. L. Shabino, Millstown, 
South Dakota. 






















289 


Homemade Phonograph 

Make a box large enough to hold 
four dry cells and use it as a base to 
mount the motor on and to support the 
revolving cylinder. Anyone of the 
various battery motors may be used to 
supply the power. The support for the 
cylinder is first made and located on 
the cover of the box in such a position 
that it will give ample room for the 
motor. The motor base and the sup¬ 
port are fastened by screws turned up 
through the cover or top of the box. 
The location of these parts is shown in 

Fig. L 

The core for holding the cylindrical 
wax records is 4 x /2 in. long and made 
of wood, turned a little tapering, the 
diameter at the small or outer end be¬ 
ing 1% in., and at the larger end, 1% 
in. A wood wheel with a V-shaped 
groove on its edge is nailed to the 
larger end of the cylinder. The hole 
in the core is fitted with a brass tube, 
driven in tightly to serve as a bearing. 
A rod that will fit the brass tube, not 
too tightly, but which will not. wabble 
loose, is threaded and turned into the 
upper end of the support. The core 
with its attached driving wheel is 
shown in Fig. 3. The dotted lines show 
the brass bearing and rod axle. The 
end of the axle should be provided with 
a thread over which a washer and nut 
are placed, to keep the core from com¬ 
ing off in turning. 

The sound box, Fig. 2, is about 2% 
in. in diameter and 1 in. thick, made, of 
heavy tin. The diaphragm, which 
should be of thin ferrotype tin, should 
be soldered to the box. The needle is 
made of a piece of sewing needle, about 
Ys in. long, and soldered to the center 
of the diaphragm. The first point 
should be ground blunt, as shown in 
the sketch. When soldering these 
parts together, take care to have the 
diaphragm lie perfectly flat and not 
made warping by any pressure applied 
while the solder is cooling. 

The tin horn can be easily made, at¬ 
tached to the sound box with a piece, of 
rubber hose and held so it will swing 
the length of the record by a rod at¬ 
tached to the top of the box, as shown. 


The motor can be controlled by a small 
three or four-point battery rheostat.— 




Phonograph and Construction of Parts 


Contributed by Herbert Hahn, Chi¬ 
cago, Ill. 


A Substitute for a Compass 

An easy way to make a pencil com¬ 
pass when one is not at hand, is to take 
a knife with two blades at one end, 
open one to the full extent and the 
other only halfway. Stick the point 
end of the fully open blade into the 
side of a lead pencil and use the half¬ 


1 




[_V 




Pencil on the Knife Blade 


open blade as the center leg of the 
compass. Turn with the knife handle 
to make the circle.— Contributed by 
E. E. Gold, Jr., Victor, Colo. 
































290 


A Novel Rat Trap 

A boy, while playing in the yard close 
to a grain house, dug a hole and buried 
an old-fashioned fruit jug or jar that 
his mother 
had thrown 
away, says 
the Iowa 
H o mestead. 
The top part 
of the jug 
was left un¬ 
covered a s 
shown in the 
sketch, and 
a hole was 
broken in 
it just above 
the ground. 
The boy then placed some shelled corn 
in the bottom, put a board on top, and 
weighted it with a heavy stone. 

The jug had been forgotten for sev¬ 
eral days when a farmer found it, and, 
wondering what it was, he raised the 
board and found nine full-grown rats 
and four mice in the bottom. The 
trap has been in use for some time and 
is opened every day or two and never 
fails to have from one to six rats or 
mice in it. 


A Nut-Cracking Block 

In the sketch herewith is shown an 
appliance for cracking nuts which will 
prevent many a bruised thumb. To 



anyone who has ever tried to crack but¬ 
ternuts it needs no further recommen¬ 
dation. The device is nothing more 
than a good block of hardwood with a 
few holes bored in it to fit the different 
sized nuts. There is no need of holding 
the nut with the fingers, and as hard 
a blow may be struck as desired. Make 
the depth of the hole two-thirds the 
height of the nut and the broken pieces 
will not scatter.—Contributed by Al¬ 
bert O’Brien, Buffalo, N. Y. 


A Jelly-Making Stand 

Every housewife who makes jelly is 
only too well acquainted with the in¬ 
convenience and danger of upsets when 
using the old method of balancing a 



jelly-bag on a couple of chairs stood on 
the kitchen table, with the additional 
inconvenience of having a couple of 
chairs on the kitchen table out of com¬ 
mission for such a length of time. 

The accompanying sketch shows 
how a stand can be made from a few 
pieces of boards that will help jelly 
makers and prevent the old-time dan¬ 
gers and disadvantages. The stand can 
be stood in the corner of the kitchen, or 
under the kitchen table where it will 
be out of danger of being upset.—Con¬ 
tributed by Lyndwode, Pereira, Ot¬ 
tawa, Can. 




















291 


How to Make an Egg-Beater 

There is no reason why any cook or 
housewife should be without this egg- 
beater, as it can be made quickly in 
any size. All that is needed is an ordi¬ 
nary can with a tight-fitting cover—a 
baking-powder can will do. Cut a 
round piece of wood 3 in. longer than 
the length of the can. Cut a neat hole 
in the cover of the can to allow the 
stick to pass through, and at one end 
of the stick fasten, by means of a flat¬ 
headed tack, a piece of tin, cut round, 
through which several holes have been 
punched. Secure another piece of 
heavier tin of the same size, and make 



a hole in the center to pass the stick 
through. Put a small nail 2 in. above 
the end of the dasher, which allows the 
second tin to pass up and down in the 
opposite direction to the dasher. This 
beater will do the work in less time 
than the regular kitchen utensil.—Con¬ 
tributed by W. A. Jaquythe, Rich¬ 
mond, Cal. 


Cart Without an Axle 

The boy who has a couple of cart 
wheels is not always lucky enough to 
have an axle of the proper length to 
fit the wheels. In such a case the cart 
can be constructed as shown in the il¬ 
lustration. This cart has no axle, each 
wheel being attached with a short pin 
for an axle, on the side and at the lower 
edge of the box. The outer end of the 


pin is carried on a piece of wood ex¬ 
tending the full length of the box and 



supported by crosspieces nailed to the 
ends, as shown.—Contributed by Thos. 
De Loof, Grand Rapids, Mich. 


An Illuminated Target 

My youthful nephews some time ago 
were presented with an air rifle and it 
worked so well that it became neces¬ 
sary for me to construct a target that 
would allow the fun to be carried on 
at night. 

I reversed a door gong, screwed it on 
the inside of a store box, and fitted two 
candles on the inside to illuminate the 
bullseye. The candles, of course, were 
below the level of the bullseye. The 
position of the candles and gong are 
shown in Fig. 1. At night the illumi¬ 
nated interior of the bell could be 



plainly seen as shown in Fig. 2.—Con¬ 
tributed by James M. Kane, Doyles- 
town, Pa. 


CSheet metal placed between two 
boards in the jaws of a vise and 
clamped tightly, can be sawed easily 
with a hacksaw. 



















































































292 


Feed Box for Chickens 


The sketch shows the construction of 
a feed box designed to prevent the scat¬ 
tering of feed and give the coward 



Chicken Feed Box 


rooster as much chance to fatten as 
the game cock. The base may be made 
of a %-in. board, 1 ft. wide and 3 ft. 
long, although any of the dimensions 
may be varied to suit special require¬ 
ments. The ends are semi-circular 
pieces with a notch, % in. deep and 3 
in. wide, cut in the center of the round¬ 
ing edge. The ends are connected to¬ 
gether with a piece of wood set in the 
notches. The strip of wood is % in. 
thick, 2 in. wide and as long as the box. 
Notches Vs in. wide and % in. deep 
are cut on the under side of this piece 
of wood, 1% in. apart. Heavy pieces 
of wire are bent in the form of a semi¬ 
circle, as shown. The wires are set in 
the %-in. notches cut on the under side 
of the top piece of wood. The ends of 
the wires are set in holes in wood pieces 
joining the bases of the end pieces. 
The baseboard and top are separable.— 
Contributed by Maurice Baudier, New 
Orleans, La. 


A Book Rest 

A book that does not open flat is 
rather inconvenient to write in when 
one of its sides is in the position shown 
in Fig. 2. A wedge-shaped piece of 



metal, stone or wood, as shown in Fig. 
1, will, when placed as in Fig. 3, raise 
the sloping half to the level of the other 
pages. Cover the block with rubber, 
wide rubber bands or felt, to prevent 
its scratching the desk top. The block 
can also be used as a paperweight. 


Window Shelf for Flower Pots 

On the ledge formed by the top part 
of the lower sash of the window I fitted 
a board 7 in. wide into each side of 
the casing, by cutting away the ends. 
I placed a small bracket at each end of 
the shelf, so that it would fit solidly 
against the lower window sash to sup¬ 
port the weight of the plants. 



One of the brackets I nailed to the 
shelf and the other I held in place with 
a hinge, the reason being that if both 
were solid, the shelf could not be put 
on the window, as one end must be 
dropped in place before the other. Such 
a shelf will hold all the plants a person 
can put on it. When not in use, it can 
be removed without marring the cas¬ 
ing-—Contributed by G. A. Wood, 
West Union, la. 


Magnet for the Work Basket 

Tie a ribbon or strong string to the 
work basket and fasten a large magnet 
to the other end. Needles, scissors, 
etc., can be picked up without any 
trouble. This device is very conven¬ 
ient for invalids.—Contributed by 
Nellie Conlon, Worcester, Mass. 











































293 


Knife Made from a Hack-Saw Blade 


A very serviceable knife with excel¬ 
lent cutting qualities can be made 
easily from a discarded hack-saw blade. 
The dimensions given in the sketch 
make a knife of convenient size. 

The saw teeth are ground off on an 
emery wheel or grindstone to a smooth 
edge parallel with the back edge. For 
the handle, take two pieces of hard 
wood, dressing one surface of each 
piece, and cut a groove as wide and 
thick as the saw blade. Place the 
blade in the groove and glue the two 
dressed sides of the wood together. 
After the glue has dried, the blade can 
be pulled out of the groove and the 
wood shaped to any desired form. A 
small wood-screw is put through one 
side of the handle to prevent the blade 
from sliding. After completing the 



Details of Handle 

handle, the blade is put back into the 
groove and sharpened to a cutting 
edge.—Contributed by H. A. Hutch¬ 
ins, Cleveland, Ohio. 


Killing Mice and Rats 

A simple and inexpensive means for 
killing mice and rats is to leave yeast 
cakes lying arouni where they can eat 
them.—Contributed by Maud McKee, 
Erie, Pa. 


Roller Coaster Illusion Traveling Up 
an Incline 

A toy car with a paddle wheel and a 
shaft on both ends traveling upward 
on a chute in which water is flowing 
down, is shown in the accompanying 
sketch. The paddle wheels travel in a 
reverse direction causing the ends of 
the axles to roll on the edge of the 


chute, thus carrying the car up the in¬ 
cline. If a rack is used on each side of 
the chute and a small pinion on the 



ends of the axles, a positive upward 
movement of the car will be obtained. 
—Contributed by W. S. Jacobs, Mal¬ 
den, Mass. 


Block for Planing Octagonal Wood 
Pieces 

The little device shown in the illus¬ 
tration will be found very useful in any 
workshop. Two or three of them will 
be necessary for planing long pieces. 
Each one is made of a hardwood block, 
1 in. square and 4 in. long. A notch 
is cut in one side, as shown in Fig. 1, 
so a piece of wood which has been 
planed square will fit in it. Put a screw 
in the end of each piece and fasten it 
down to the bench. If desired, a tenon 
may be made on the bottom of each 
block, as shown in Fig. 2, to fit a mor¬ 
tise cut in the bench. Place the blocks 
far enough apart so the board to be 
planed will rest firmly in the notches. 


F’ig. T 

The Notch Holds the Wood 

Plane the board square first and then 
place it in the notches and plane the 
corners down to the proper dimen¬ 
sions.—Contributed by Willie Wool- 
sen, Cape May Point, N. J. 






















294 


A Letter Holder of Pierced Metal 


The letter holder shown in the illus¬ 
tration will be found convenient for 
holding out-going letters that await the 
postman’s coming. It can be made of 
either copper or brass and need not 



Finished Letter Holder 


be of very heavy material. Gauge 22 
will be sufficiently heavy. One sheet 
of metal, 6 by 9% in., a board on which 
to work it, and an awl and hammer, 
will be needed. 

Prepare a design for the front. If 
one such as is shown is to be used, 





Layout for the Metal 

make one-quarter of it first, and then 
get the other parts by folding on the 
center lines and tracing. This will in¬ 


sure having all parts alike. The letters 
can be put on afterward. 

Fasten the metal to the board, using 
tacks and nailing outside of the required 
space, in the waste metal. Trace the 
design on the metal with carbon paper; 
or, if desired, paste the paper design 
right on the metal. With an awl pierce 
the metal between the marginal line 
and the design, as shown. The holes 
should be uniform along the outlines 
but should be pierced promiscuously 
otherwise. On the back, only the mar¬ 
ginal line is to be pierced. 

Remove the metal, together with the 
paper if the latter was pasted to the 
metal, and trim off the surplus metal 
where the tacks had been placed. File 
off any sharpness so that the hand may 
not be injured in handling it. Place 
the metal on the edge of a table or 
between two boards, and bend on the 
two lines indicated in the drawing, to 
right angles. 

A good finish is obtained by just let¬ 
ting the copper age with its natural 
color. If any polishing is required, it 
should be done before the metal is 
fastened to the board and pierced. 


Imitating Ground Glass 

Make a mixture of white lead in oil, 
1 part; varnish, % part; turpentine, 
^4 part, and add sugar of lead as a 
dryer. Make a very thin paint of this 
and use a broad, flat brush, says Master 
Painter. With care you may succeed 
in getting the paint on quite evenly all 
over, which is desirable. One coat will 
do. If it becomes necessary to remove 
this coating for renewal, it may be 
effected by an application of potash 
lye, or the old may be renewed by a 
coating of a mixture of 2 parts hydro¬ 
chloric acid, 2 parts white vitriol, 1 
part sulphate of copper (blue vitriol) 
and 1 part of gum arabic, applied by 
means of a brush. 


CA detail drawing made of a piece of 
furniture before starting the work will 
often save time and mistakes. 

































295 


Making “Spirits” Play a Violin 


A very pretty trick, that can be 
worked in your own parlor, will pro¬ 
duce as much sensation as a fake 
“medium.” In all appearance, a violin, 
mandolin or guitar, placed on a table, 
will begin to produce music simply 
through stamping the foot and a few 
passes of the hand. The music will 
not sound natural, but weird and dis¬ 
tant. 

The trick is done by placing the end 
of a small stick on a music box in the 
basement of the house and allowing 
the other end to pass up through the 
floor and table top so it will project 
about T V in. The stick may be placed 
by the side of, behind or through the 
center of a table leg. Be careful not 
to have any obstruction in the way of 
the stick. The instrument is placed 
sideways on the protruding end of the 
stick. The “fake” work of invoking 
the “spirit” is performed and ended 
by stamping the foot, which signals 
the operator in the basement to start 
the machine, and the violin seemingly 
produces music without anyone touch¬ 
ing it. 

So impressive are the results, that 
many people really think the spirits 
of the departed are playing the violin 
with unseen hands. The music is 
transmitted through the stick from the 
music box to the violin. 



Sizing a Threaded Hole 

It sometimes becomes necessary to 
transfer the size of a threaded hole 
from some out-of-the-way place to the 
shop in order to make a piece to fit it. 
With proper tools this is easy; with¬ 
out them, it might be difficult. One 
thing is always at hand and that is 
wood. Whittle a stick tapering until 
it starts in the hole. Then turn it into 
the hole and a fair thread will be made 
on the wood. The stick can be car¬ 
ried in the pocket without risk of 
changing the size, as would be the case 
with ordinary calipers. 


Leaded-Glass Fire Screen 

The main frame of the fire screen 
shown in Fig. 1 is made from two 
pieces of %-in. square bar iron. The 
longest piece, which should be about 
5% ft. long, is bent square so as to 
form two uprights, each 28 in. long and 
measuring 26 in. across the top. The 
bottom crosspiece can be either riveted 
or welded to the uprights. Two pairs 
of feet, each 6 in. long and spread about 
8 in. apart, are shaped as shown in Fig. 
2. These are welded to the lower end 
of the uprights. 

The ornamental scrollwork on the 

























































296 


frame is simple and effective, and is 
easy to construct, says Work, London. 
The scrolls are attached to the frame 
by means of T Vm* round-head machine 
screws. The leaf Ornament at the ter- 



Completed Fire Screen and Parts 

mination of the scroll is shaped and 
embossed as shown in Fig. 3. The 
metal used for the scrolls is in. thick 
by % in. wide. The leaf ornament is 
formed by turning over the end of a 
piece of metal and working it together 
at a welding heat, and then shaping 
out the leaf with a chisel and files, after 
which they are embossed with a ball- 
peen hammer. 

The center is made from colored 
glass of special make for leaded work. 
The design is formed in the lead, of 


which a cross section is shown in Fig. 
4. Use care to give the lead a sym¬ 
metrical outline. The design should 
be drawn full size on a large sheet of 
heavy paper and the spaces to be occu¬ 
pied by the lead cut out so as to leave 
the exact size and shape of each piece 
of paper the same as wanted for each 
piece of glass. These are used as pat¬ 
terns in marking the glass for cutting. 
The glass is cut the same as ordinary 
window glass. The glass, lead, border 
and special flux can be purchased from 
an art glass shop. 

After the glass is cut, the work of 
putting the pieces together with the 
lead between them is begun. Secure 
a board as wide as the screen—several 
narrow boards put together will do— 
and begin by placing one vertical side 
border, A, Fig. 5, and the base border, 
B, on it as shown. Place the corner 
piece of glass, C, in the grooves of the 
borders, cut a long piece of lead, D, and 
hold it in place with two or three brads 
or glazier’s points. The piece of lead 
E is cut and a small tenon joint made 
as shown in Fig. 6. While the piece of 
lead D, Fig. 5, is held by the brads, the 
piece E can be fitted and soldered. The 
soldering is done with a hot soldering 
iron and wire solder, using rosin as a 
flux, or, better still, special flux pur¬ 
chased for this purpose. After the 
joints are soldered, the piece of glass F 
is put in place and the lead held with 
brads as before until the cross leads 
are fitted and soldered. The brads are 
then removed, the glass piece as shown 
by the dotted lines put in, and the leads 
around it held with brads until the 
crosspieces are put in and soldered. 
This method is pursued until the glass 
is complete, then the two remaining 
vertical and top pieces of border are 
put on and all corners soldered. 

The leaded glass is held in the iron 
frame by means of eight U-shaped 
clips, as shown in Fig. 7. A hole is 
drilled in the frame for the retaining 
screw, the latter being tapped to the 
base of the clip. Special screws may 
be made with ornamental heads, as 
shown in Fig. 8, and used for securing 
the side scrolls and clips together. 





















































































297 


A Revolving Teeter Board 


The accompanying sketch shows the 
details of a revolving teeter board for 
the children’s playground that can be 
constructed in a few hours. Secure a 
post, not less than 4 in. 
square and of the 
length given in the 
drawing, and round the 
corners of one end for 
a ring. This ring can 
be made of 1-in. strap 
iron and it should be 
shrunk on the post. 

Bore a %-in. hole in the 
end of the post for the 
center pin to rest in. 

Make three washers 3 
in. in diameter and 14 
in. thick and drill %-in. 
holes through their cen¬ 
ters. Drill and counter¬ 
sink two smaller holes 
for 2-in. wood screws 
in each washer. Fasten 
one of these washers to 
the top of the post as 
shown. The post is 
now ready to be set in 
the ground. Coarse 
gravel should be packed tightly about 
it to make it solid. Concrete is much 
better if it can be secured. 

To make the swivel you will need 
two % by 5 by 8-in. plates, rounded at 
the top as shown, and two wood blocks, 
A and B, each 3% by 5 by 10 in. Drill 
the lower ends of the plates for four 
214-in. lag screws and the upper ends 
for a %-in. bolt. Fasten the plates tc 
the block B, then drill a %-in. hole 
as shown and fasten the two remain¬ 
ing washers to the block, one on each 
side and central with the hole. Bore a 
%-in. hole lengthwise through the 
block A for the %-in. rocker bolt. This 
bolt should be 11% in. long. 

The teeter board is made of a 2 by 
12-in. plank about 12 ft. long. It should 
be slightly tapered from the center to 
the ends. Two styles of hand holds 
are shown, but the one on the left is 
the one most generally used. The 
handles are rounded at the ends and 


are fastened to the board with lag 
screws or bolts. The block A is fast¬ 
ened to the board with lag screws and 
should be a working fit between the 



two plates where'it is held by means 
of the %-in. bolt. The center pin is 
% in. in diameter and about 9 in. long. 
—Contributed by W. H. Dreier, Jr., 
Camden, N. J. 


Home-Made Pot Covers 

Empty thread spools and the tins 
used as extra inside covers in lard cans 
are usually thrown away, but these can 

be put to _ 

good use as 
kettle cov¬ 
ers, if they 
are made 
up as fol¬ 
lows : Saw the spool in half as shown, 
make a hole in the center of the tin and 
run a screw or nail through the spool 
and the tin; then flatten its end on the 
under side. This will make an excel¬ 
lent cover for a pot.—Contributed by 
Maurice Baudier, New Orleans, La. 














































































398 



An Outdoor Gymnasium 

Part I—The Horizontal Bar 


Gymnastic apparatus costs money 
and needs to be housed, because it will 
not stand the weather. Gymnasiums 
are not always available for the average 
boy who likes exercise and who would 
like to learn the tricks on horizontal 
and parallel bars, horse and rings, 
which all young athletes are taught in 
regular gymnastic courses. 

Any small crowd of boys—even two 
—having a few simple tools, a will to 
use them and the small amount of 
money required to buy the necessary 


4 filler pieces, % by 3 in. by 3 ft. 9 in. 
long and 1 piece, 2y 2 in. square by 5 ft. 
7 in. long. This latter piece is for the 
bar and should be of well seasoned, 
straight-grained hickory. It makes no 
difference what kind of wood is used 
for the other pieces, but it is best to use 
cedar for the heavy pieces that are set 
in the ground as it will take years for 
this wood to rot. Ordinary yellow pine 
will do very well. The four 7-in. boards 
should be of some hard wood if pos¬ 
sible such as oak, hickory, maple, chest- 



wood, bolts and rope, can make a first- 
class gymnasium. If trees are conven¬ 
ient, and some one can swing an axe, 
the money outlay will be almost noth¬ 
ing. The following plans are for ma¬ 
terial purchased from a mill squared 
and cut to length. To substitute small, 
straight trees for the squared timbers 
requires but little changes in the plans. 

The most important piece of appara¬ 
tus in the gymnasium is the horizontal 
bar. Most gymnasiums have two: one 
adjustable bar for various exercises 
and a high bar for gymnastic work. 
The outdoor gymnasium combines the 
two. The material required is as fol¬ 
lows : 2 pieces of wood, 4 in. square by 
9 y 2 ft. long; 4 pieces, 2 by 4 in. by 2 ft. 
long; 4 pieces, 1 by 7 in. by 6% ft. long; 


nut or ash. The other material neces¬ 
sary consists of 2 bolts, y 2 in. in diam¬ 
eter and 7 in. long; 16 screws, 3 in. 
long; 4 heavy screw eyes with two 
y 2 -in. shanks; 50 ft. of heavy galvanized 
wire: 80 ft. of ^-in. manila rope and 
4 pulley blocks. Four cleats are also 
required but these can be made of wood 
at home. 

Draw a line on the four 7-in. boards 
along the side of each from end to end, 
D/4 in. from one edge. Beginning at 
one end of each board make pencil dots 
on this line 5 in. apart for a distance of 
3 ft. 4 in. Bore holes through the 
boards on these marks with a -jVin. bit. 
Fasten two of these boards on each 
post with the 3-in. screws, as shown in 
the top view of the post Fig. 1, form- 















































299 


ing a channel of the edges in which 
the holes were bored. Two of the filler 
pieces are fastened in each channel as 
shown, so as to make the space fit the 
squared end of the bar snugly. The ends 
of the boards with the holes should be 
flush with the top of the post. This 
will make each pair of holes in the 7-in. 
boards coincide, so the %-in. bolt can 
be put through them and the squared 
end of the bar. 

Select a level place where the appara¬ 
tus is to be placed and dig two holes 
6 ft. apart, each 3 ft. deep and remove 
all loose dirt. The ends of the posts 
not covered with the boards are set in 
these holes on bricks or small stones. 
The channels formed by the boards 
must be set facing each other with the 
inner surfaces of the posts parallel and 
5 ft. 8 in. apart. The holes around the 
posts are filled with earth and well 
tamped. 

The hickory piece which is to form 
the bar should be planed, scraped and 
sandpapered until it is perfectly smooth 
and round except for 3 in. at each end. 
Bore a iVin. hole through each square 
end 1% in. from the end. The bar may 
be fastened at any desired height by 
slipping the %-in. bolts through the 
holes bored in both the bar and chan¬ 
nel. 

Each post must be well braced to 
keep it rigid while a person is swing¬ 
ing on the bar. Four anchors are 
placed in the ground at the corners of 
an imaginary rectangle 9 by 16 ft., in 
the center of which the posts stand as 
shown in Fig. 2. Each anchor is made 
of one 2-ft. piece of wood, around the 
center of which four strands of the 
heavy galvanized wire are twisted, then 
buried to a depth of 2 ft., the extending 
ends of the wires coming up to the 
surface at an angle. 

The heavy screw eyes are turned 
into the posts at the top and lengths of 
ropes tied to each. These ropes or guys 
pass through the pulley blocks, which 
are fastened to the projecting ends of 
the anchor wire, and return to the 
posts where they are tied to cleats. Do 
not tighten the guy ropes without the 


bar in place, as to do so will strain 
the posts in the ground. Do not change 
the elevation of the bar without slack¬ 



ing up on the ropes. It takes but little 
pull on the guy ropes to make them 
taut, and once tightened the bar will 
be rigid. 

Oil the bar when it is finished and 
remove it during the winter. It is well 
to oil the wood occasionally during the 
summer and reverse the bar at times 
to prevent its becoming curved. The 
wood parts should be well painted to 
protect them from the weather. 


Electrostatic Illumination 

Any one having the us.e of a static 
machine can perform the following ex¬ 
periment which gives a striking result. 
A common tumbler is mounted on a 
revolving plat¬ 
form and a nar¬ 
row strip of tin- 
foil is fastened 
with shellac var¬ 
nish to the sur¬ 
face of the glass 
as follows: Start¬ 
ing beneath the 
foot of the glass 
from a point im¬ 
mediately below 
the stem, it is 
taken to the 
edge of the foot; 
it follows the 
edge for about 1 
in. and then 
passes in a curve across the base, and 
ascends the stem; then it passes 

















300 


around the bowl in q sinuous course to 
the rim, which it follows for about one- 
third of its circumference; after which 
it descends on the inside and termin¬ 
ates at the bottom. The tinfoil on the 
outside of the glass is divided by cut¬ 
ting with a knife every % i n *> th e parts 
inside and beneath the glass being left 
undivided. Current is then led from a 
static machine to two terminals, one 
terminal being connected to one end of 
the tinfoil strip, and similarly the sec¬ 
ond terminal makes contact with the 
other end. As soon as the current is led 


into the apparatus, a spark is seen at 
each place where the knife has cut 
through the tinfoil. If the tumbler is 
rotated, the effect will be as shown in 
the illustration. A variety of small and 
peculiar effects can be obtained by 
making some of the gaps in the tinfoil 
larger than others, in which case larger 
sparks would be produced at these 
points. The experiment should be car¬ 
ried out in a darkened room, and under 
these circumstances when nothing is 
visible, not even the tumbler, the effect 
is very striking. 


Balloon Ascension Illusion 

By C. W. Nieman 


In these days of startling revelations 
in air-craft flight we are prepared to 
see any day some marvelous machine- 
driven bird cutting figure-eights all 
over the sky above our heads. One boy 
recently took advantage of this state 
of expectancy to have an evening’s 
harmless amusement, through an illu¬ 
sion which deceived even the most in¬ 
credulous. He caused a whole hotel-full 
of people to gaze open mouthed at a sort 
of “Zeppelin XXIII,” which skimmed 
along the distant horizon, just visible 
against the dark evening sky, disap¬ 
pearing only to reappear again, and 
working the whole crowd up to a 
frenzy of excitement. And all he used 
was a black thread, a big piece of card¬ 
board and a pair of field glasses. 

He stretched the thread between two 
buildings, about 100 ft. apart, in an 
endless belt, passing through a screw- 
eye at either end. On this thread he 
fastened a cardboard “cut-out” of a 
dirigible, not much to look at in day¬ 
time, but most deceptive at dusk. By 
pulling one or the other string he 
moved the “airship” in either direction. 
He took the precaution of stretching 
his thread just beyond a blackberry 
hedge and thus kept over-inquisitive 
persons at a safe distance. He also saw 
to it that there was a black background 
at either end so that the reversing of 
the direction of the craft would not be 
noticed. 


In attracting the crowd he had a 
confederate stand looking at the mov¬ 
ing ship through a field glass, which at 
once gave the suggestion of distance, 
and materially heightened the illusion. 
When the interest of the crowd, which 
at once gathered, was at its height, the 
“aeronaut” pulled his craft out of sight 
and let the disillusion come when the 
light of day laid bare his fraud. 

A Cork Extractor 

The device shown in the sketch is 
for removing a cork or stopper from a 
bottle whether 
full or empty 
where the cork 
has been pushed 
inside. A wire 
about No. 14 
gauge is bent as 
shown at B, Fig. 

1, to fit the index 
finger and the 
other end filed to 
a point C, and 
turned in a spir¬ 
al D, so the point 
will be on top. 

Insert this tool 
in the bottle as 
shown in Fig. 2 and place the end D 
under the cork and pull up. The cork 
will come out easily.—Contributed by 
Maurice Baudier, New Orleans. La. 



Fig. 1 












301 


An Outdoor Gymnasium 

Part II—Parallel Bars 


Parallel bars hold a high place in the 
affection of those who frequent gym¬ 
nasiums as the best apparatus for de¬ 
velopment of the back and shoulder 
muscles, as well as a promoter of ease 
and grace of movement. The outdoor 
“gym” can have a set of these bars 
with very little more labor than was 
required for the horizontal bar. 

The material required is as follows: 4 


shown in the diagram, and fasten the 
lower ends to the beveled ends of the 
bases with the spikes. Fasten the up¬ 
per ends of the knee braces to the up¬ 
rights with the 8-in. bolts put through 
the holes bored for that purpose, and 
countersinking the heads. Lay the 
whole end flat on the ground and make 
a mark 2% ft. from the bottom of the 
base up along the posts, and fasten the 



posts, preferably cedar, 4 in. square and 
6 ft. long; 2 base pieces, 4 in. square 
and 5% ft. long; 2 cross braces, 2 by 
4 in. by 2 ft. 2 in. long; 2 side braces, 
2 by 4 in. by 7 ft. 8 in. long; 4 knee 
braces, 2 by 4 in. by 3 ft. 8 in. long; 
2 bars of straight grained hickory, 2 
by 3 in. by 10 ft. long; 4 wood screws, 

6 in. long; 4 bolts, 8 in. long; 8 bolts, 

7 in. long and 1 doz. large spikes. 

To make the apparatus, lay off the 
bases as shown in the end view and 
bevel the ends at an angle of 60 deg. 
Chisel out two notches 4 in. wide and 1 
in. deep, beginning at a point 9 in. from 
either side of the center. These are to 
receive the lower ends of the posts. 
Bevel two sides of one end of each 
post down to the width of the finished 
bar—a little less than 2 in. Cut notches 
in these ends to receive the oval bars. 
Bevel the ends of the knee braces, as 


end braces with their top edges flusl 
with the marks, using four of the 7-in 
bolts. Finally toe-nail the base into th« 
ends of the posts merely to hold them 
in position while the whole structure 
is being handled. 

Two endpieces must be made. These 
sets or ends of the apparatus are to 
be buried in trenches dug to the depth 
of 2% ft., with the distance between 
the two inner surfaces of the posts, 
which face each other, of 7 ft. After 
the trenches are dug, additional long, 
shallow trenches must be made connect¬ 
ing the posts to receive the side braces. 
The function of these side braces is to 
hold both ends together solidly. It is 
necessary to bury these braces so they 
will be out of the way of the performer. 
The side braces are bolted to the posts 
just below the cross braces, so the 
bolts in both will not meet. The bars 











































302 


are dressed down so that a cross sec¬ 
tion is oval as shown in the end view. 
They are to be screwed to the notched 
ends of the uprights with the 6-in. 
screws. The holes should be counter¬ 
sunk so they can be filled with putty 
after the screws are in place. The bars 
should be well oiled with linseed oil to 
protect them from the weather, and in 
the winter they should be removed and 
stored. 

Every piece of wood in this appara¬ 
tus can be round and cut from trees, ex- 

(To be ( 


cept the bars. If using mill-cut lumber, 
leave it undressed, and if using round 
timber leave the bark upon it as a pro¬ 
tection from the weather. It is well 
to paint the entire apparatus, save the 
bars, before burying the lower part of 
the end pieces. The wood so treated 
will last for years, but even unpainted 
they are very durable. Be sure to 
tamp down the earth well about the 
posts. A smooth piece of ground should 
be selected on which to erect the ap¬ 
paratus. 
ntinued.) 


Combined Ladle and Strainer 


When using a strainer in connection 
with a ladle the operation requires both 




Ladle and Strainer 


hands. A convenient article where a 
ladle and strainer are needed is to 
swing a cup-shaped strainer under the 
bowl of a ladle as shown in the illus¬ 
tration. The strainer can be held in 
place with small bands that fit loosely 
over the handle, and a small tip sol¬ 
dered to the ladle. These will allow 
the ladle to be turned, leaving the 
strainer always in position. A large 
sized ladle, equipped with a strainer, 
is just the thing for painters to dip and 
strain paint, while a small one is of 
great assistance to the housewife for 
dipping and straining soups, jellies, 
etc.—Contributed by W. A. Jaquythe, 
Richmond, Cal. 


GA solution consisting of 1 dr. of so¬ 
dium carbonate and 1 qt. of milk makes 
an excellent cleaner for motorists’ 
gloves. 


Turpentine in Cutting Oil 

When cutting steel or wrought iron 
in a lathe, milling machine, drill press 
or planer, it is sometimes necessary to 
leave a smooth surface. Oil, or various 
cutting compounds of oil, is used for 
this purpose and to keep the surface 
cool. If a little turpentine is added to 
the oil, it will greatly assist in leaving 
a smooth surface. A proportion of 
one-quarter turpentine is good. 


Center of Gravity Experiment 

This experiment consists of suspend¬ 
ing a pail of water from a stick placed 
upon a table 
as shown in 
the accompa¬ 
nying sketch. 

In order to ac¬ 
complish this 
exper i m e n t, 
which seems 
impossible, it 
is necessary to 
place a stick, 

A, of sufficient 
length, be¬ 
tween the end of the stick on the table 
and the bottom of the pail. This makes 
the center of gravity somewhere near 
the middle of the stick on the table, 
thus holding the pail as shown. 



GA heavy lathe cut will not do accurate 
work. 















303 


An Outdoor Gymnasium 

PART III—The Horse 


The German horse is that peculiar 
piece of apparatus which is partly a 
horizontal obstruction to leap over, 
partly a barrier for jumps, partly a 
smooth surface of long and narrow 
dimensions over and about which the 
body may slide and swing, and partly 
an artificial back for the purpose of a 
peculiar style of leap frog. 


The round part of this log must be 
planed, scraped and sandpapered until 
it is perfectly smooth, and free from 
knots, projections and splinters. Hand 
holds must be provided next. These 
are placed 18 in. apart in a central 
position on the horse. Make two paral¬ 
lel saw cuts .2 in. apart, straight down 
in the round surface of the horse until 



To make a horse for the outdoor 
“gym” requires no difficult work save 
the preparation of the top or body of 
the horse. The making of the regular 
gymnasium horse requires a very elab¬ 
orate wood-working and leather uphol¬ 
stering plant, but the one used for out¬ 
door work can be made of a log of wood. 
Procure from a saw mill, wood yard or 
from the woods, one-half of a tree 
trunk from a tree 9 to 15 in. in diam¬ 
eter—the larger the better. The length 
may be anywhere from 4 to 7 ft., but 
51/2 ft. is a good length. 


each cut is 9 in. long. Chisel out the 
wood between the cuts and in the mor¬ 
tises thus made insert the hand holds. 
Each hand hold is made of a 9-in. piece 
of 2 by 4-in. stud cut rounding on one 
edge. These are well nailed in place. 

The body of the horse is to be fast¬ 
ened on top of posts so that it may 
be adjusted for height. It is not as 
difficult to make as the horizontal and 
parallel bars. The material required 
is as follows: Two posts, 4 in. square 
by 5 ft. long; 2 adjusting pieces, 2 by 
4 in. by 3 ft. 3 in. long; 1 cross brace, 























































304 


2 by 4 in. by 3 ft. long; 2 bases, 4 in. 
square by 5% ft. long; 4 knee braces, 

2 by 4 in. by 3 ft. long; two in. bolts, 

3 in. long, to fasten the knee braces at 
the top; ten %-in. bolts, 7 in. long, 4 
to fasten the knee braces at the bottom, 
2 to fasten the cross brace and 4 to 
be used in fastening the adjusting 
pieces to the posts. 

To construct, lay out the bases as 
shown in the drawing, making the mor¬ 
tises to receive the bottom ends of the 
posts exactly in the center, and cut a 
slanting mortise 6 in. from each end to 
receive the ends of the knee braces. 
Bevel the ends of the knee braces and 
fasten the upper ends of each pair to 
the post with one 9-in. bolt. Fasten 
the lower ends to the base with the 
7-in. bolts. 

The upper end of each post should 
have %-in. holes bored through it paral¬ 
lel to the base at intervals of 3 in., be¬ 
ginning 1% in. from the top and ex¬ 
tending down its length for 2 ft. 4% in. 
The adjusting pieces are to be bored in 
a similar manner after which they are 
to be mortised into the under side of 
the horse top 15 in. from each end, and 
secured with screws put through the 


top and into the end of the adjusting 
pieces. 

The bases with their posts and knee 
braces are buried 2 ft. 4* in. in the 
ground, parallel to each other and the 
same distance apart as the adjusting 
pieces are mortised in the horse top. 
When the ground has been filled in 
and tamped hard, the cross brace 
should be bolted in position with its 
lower edge resting on the ground and 
connecting the two posts. 

The height of the horse from the 
ground is adjusted by changing the 
bolts in the different holes connecting 
the two adjusting pieces with the two 
posts. Much pleasant and healthful 
gymnastic exercise can be had in com¬ 
petitive horse jumping and leaping, the 
handles providing a way to make many 
different leaps through, over and 
around, including not only those made 
to see who can go over the horse from 
a standing or running start at the 
greatest height, but who can go over at 
the greatest height when starting from 
the “toeing off mark” farthest away 
from the horse. This horse should be 
located on level ground having smooth 
space about it for several feet. 


Spoon Rest for Kettles 

A rest for keeping spoons from 
slipping into kettles can be made from 
a strip of 
metal bent 
as shown in 
the illustra¬ 
tion. The 
spring of the 
metal will 
make it easy 
to apply to 
the kettle. 
The spoon 
placed in the 
rest will 
drain back into the kettle. The cover 
can be placed on without removing the 
spoon.—Contributed by W. A. Ja- 
quythe, Richmond, Cal. 


Reason for Bursting of Gun Barrels 

Gun barrels do not burst without a 
cause and usually that cause is one of 
which the shooter is entirely ignorant, 
but nevertheless, no one is responsible 
but himself, says the Sporting Goods 
Dealer. Gun barrels can only burst by 
having some obstruction in the barrel 
or by overloading with powder. Any 
gun barrel can be burst by misuse or by 
carelessly loading smokeless powder, 
but no barrel will burst by using factory 
loaded ammunition, provided there is 
no obstruction or foreign substance in¬ 
side the barrel. When a gun barrel 
bursts at the breech or chamber, it is 
caused by an overloaded shell, and 
when it bursts in the center or near the 
muzzle, it is caused by some obstruc¬ 
tion, such as a dent, snow, water, etc. 











305 


Hand Sled Made of Pipe and Fittings 

The accompanying sketch shows 
how an ordinary hand sled can be 
made of %-in. pipe and fittings. Each 
runner is made of one piece of pipe 
bent to the proper shape. This can 
be accomplished by filling the pipe 
with melted rosin or lead, then bend¬ 
ing to the shape desired, and afterward 
removing the rosin or lead by heating. 
Each joint is turned up tightly and 
well pinned or brazed. One of the top 
crosspieces should have right-hand 
and left-hand threads or be fitted with 
a union. Also, one of the top pieces 
connecting the rear part to the front 
part of each runner must be fitted in 
the same way. The top is fastened to 
the two crosspieces. 

Such a hand sled can be made in a 



few hours’ time and, when complete, 
is much better than a wood sled.—Con¬ 
tributed by James E. Noble, Toronto, 
Ontario. 


Emergency Magnifying Glass 

When in need of a microscope in 
the study of botany, one may be made 
in the following manner: Bend a small 
wire or the stem of a leaf so as to form 
a small loop not larger than the ordi- 



Loop Inclosing a Drop of Water 

nary drop of water. When this is 
done place a drop of clear water in the 
loop and the microscope is complete. 
This temporary device will prove val¬ 
uable where a strong magnifying glass 
is not at hand.—Contributed by Arthur 
E. Joerin, Paris, France. 


Bent-Iron Pipe Rack 

Strips of soft iron, % or T 3 g in. in 
width and ^ in. thick, are used in 



n 

Collars Fig.I ^ Collars 

used at B used at"A" 


Fig.2 

Design of a Rack 


making the pipe rack shown in Fig. 1. 
This material can be obtained from 
any local hardware dealer who carries 
bar iron in stock. 

Draw a full-size sketch of the design 
on paper, then run a string over each 
part, which, when straightened out, 
will give the length. The scrolls are 
bent with a pair of round-nose pliers. 
These, with a pair of flat-nose pliers, 
are all the tools necessary. The part 
for holding the pipes is shown in Fig. 
2. The end elevation, at E and F, 
shows how the rack is fastened to the 
main frame of the rack.—Contributed 
by J. W. Vener, Boston, Mass. 


To Clean Silver 

A good method to clean silver of any 
kind is to place the articles in an alu¬ 
minum vessel and add a few pieces of 
zinc. Hot water is added and the silver 
boiled until clean. It is best to use 
soft water. The tarnish is removed 
by the electrolytic action of the zinc on 
the aluminum and the silver, and the 
latter will take on a bright luster. 
This method of cleaning will not in¬ 
jure oxidized or black silver, nor that 
which is partly oxidized. 



















s • 


306 


Sharpening Skates with a File 

Two methods are shown in the 
sketches for filing skates—one for hol¬ 
low filing and the other for filing flat 



Fig. I 

Filing a Flat Surface 



Fig. 2 


and straight across the blade. The 
method shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is for 
filing the blade flat. The device for 
holding the skates consists of a board 
on which four blocks, AA and BB, are 
nailed. These blocks are fastened on 
the board in the relative positions of 
the heel and sole on a shoe. The skates 
are clamped on them in the same man¬ 
ner as on a shoe. A flat file is drawn 
across both blades of the skates as 
shown. After the roundness is cut 
down on the edges of the blades the 
skates are removed and the file is 
drawn along the sides to remove the 



burr. Skates filed in this way have 
flat surfaces with sharp edges. 

Some skaters like a hollow-ground 
skate and the method shown in Figs. 


3 and 4 can be used for filing a slightly 
curved surface in the blade. A piece 
of tin or sheet metal is shaped over a 
round file as shown in Fig. 3. The 
manner of filing the curves is shown 
in Fig. 4. The piece of metal is held 
over the file and blade of the skate as 
the file is worked. 


Lines and Letters Made with a 
Carpenter’s Pencil 

The sketch shows some unusual work 
made with a carpenter’s pencil. If the 
flat lead is notched with a three-cor¬ 
nered file (Fig. 1), two parallel lines 
may be drawn at one stroke, or various 
rulings may be made, as shown in Fig. 
2. Broad lines can be made, as shown 
in Fig. 3, or unequal widths as in Fig. 4. 


/Ok 

Fig.3 
11 


HL 

Fiq.4 

A 

ni'nrrn 


jjL Jftujlisli 


Fig.8 Fig.9 

Pencil Points and Their Work 


In Figs. 2, 5 and 6 are shown lines 
especially adapted for the bookkeeper 
or draftsman. If one lacks the ability to 
draw old English letters with a pen, the 
letters may be first drawn with a car¬ 
penter’s pencil (Fig. 7) and the outlines 
marked with ink and finally filled in. 
Narrow lines are made with points cut 
as in Figs. 8 and 9. A little practice 
with the carpenter’s pencil in making 
these letters will enable the student to 
finally produce them with the pen used 
for the purpose. 


GAluminum wire plunged hot into a 
cold solution of carbonate of soda be¬ 
comes coated with a strong layer of 
oxide which forms an excellent insu¬ 
lator to electricity. 



















































. 307 


How to Build an Ice-Yacht* 


The plans and specifications shown 
in the illustrations are for making a 
400-ft. class ice-yacht, having a double 
cockpit to accommodate four persons. 
The weight of the persons in the for¬ 
ward cockpit keeps the boat from rear¬ 
ing when in a stiff breeze. The 
forward cockpit can be removed if 
necessary. 

The materials used are: backbone, 


plainly shown in the sketches. The 
backbone is 37% ft. over all, 12 in. in 
the center, 5 in. stern, 3% in. at the 
nose; width 4% in. All wood should 
be selected from the best grades, well 
seasoned and free from checks. In Fig. 
1 is shown the complete ice-yacht with 
general dimensions for the sail and 
main parts. Other dimensions are 
shown in Fig. 2. The backbone is 



Ice-Yacht Complete 


white pine; center, clear spruce; sides, 
white oak caps; runner plank, bass¬ 
wood, butternut or oak; cockpit, oak; 
runners, chocks, etc., quartered white 
oak. All the iron work should be first- 
grade Swedish iron, with the excep¬ 
tion of the runners, which are soft cast 
iron. 

It is not necessary to go into detail 
with the measurements as they are 


capped on the upper and lower edges 
full length with strips of oak, 4% in. 
wide and % in. thick. The lengthwise 
side strips of spruce are 1% in. thick. 
The filling-in pieces placed between 
the side pieces are of seasoned white 
pine, leaving the open places as shown 
in Fig. 2. The parts are put together 
with hot glue and brass screws. 

The runner plank should be placed 


^Condensed from an article by H. Percy Ashley in Rudder. 


























308 



Fig.2 



Details of the Ice-Yacht Parts 


































































































































































































































































































































































309 


with the heart of the wood up, so as to 
give the natural curve from the ice so 
that it will act as a spring. The plank 
is 16 in. wide in the center, 14 in. at the 
ends; 4% in. thick at the center and 
2% in. at the ends. 

Details of the runners are shown in 
Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.. The cast 
iron shoes are filed and finished with 
emery paper, making the angle on the 
cutting edge 45 deg. on both sides. 
The runners are 7% in. wide over all 
and 2% in. thick. The soft iron cast¬ 
ing is 2% in. deep. The shoes are fast¬ 
ened by %-in. machine bolts. These 
are shown in Figs. 3 and 9. The rud¬ 
der is 2% in. thick, 5 in. deep, including 
wood and iron, and 3 ft. long. The cast 
iron shoe is 1% in. deep and fastened 
on with four %-in. machine bolts. A 
brass plate, % in. thick, 2 in. wide and 7 
in. long, is inserted on each side of the 
runners as shown in Fig. 9. Three 
holes are drilled through for a %-in. 
riding bolt that can be shifted as de¬ 
sired for rough or smooth ice. The 
runner chocks and guides are 1% in. 
thick and 4% in. deep. They are set 
in the runner plank % in. and fastened 
with glue and %-in. lag screws. These 
are shown in Figs. 6 and 7. 

The aft cockpit is stationary, while 
the fore or passenger cockpit can be re¬ 
moved at will. Both cockpits are the 
same size, 42 in. wide and 7 ft. long 
over all. Each one has a bent rail, 1% 
in. by 4 in., grooved % in. by % in. 
before bending. The flooring is of oak, 
1% in. thick and 4 in. wide, tongue-and- 
grooved. The forward cockpit is made 
in halves and hung on the backbone 
with wrought-iron straps and bolts. 
These are shown in Figs. 41, 43 and 44. 
Two pieces of oak, % in. by 4 in. are 
fastened with screws to the flooring, 
parallel with the backbone in the for¬ 
ward cockpit. The runner plank which 
passes under this cockpit gives it sta¬ 
bility. 

The spars should be hollow and have 
the following dimensions: Mast, 23 ft. 

3 in.; heel, 3% in.; center, 5%. in.; tip* 

4 in.; boom 23% ft.; heel, 3% in.; cen¬ 
ter, 4 in.; tip, 2% in. at ends; gaff, 12% 
ft.; center, 3% in.; ends, 2% in.; jib- 


boom, 10% ft.; 1% in. at the ends, 2% 
in. at the center. The gaff is furnished 
with bent jaws of oak, Fig. 17, and the 
main boom with gooseneck, Fig. 12. 

Galvanized cast-steel yacht rigging, 
i 5 e in. in diameter, is used for the 
shrouds; jibstay, % in. in diameter; 
runner plank guys, fk in. in diameter; 
bobstay, % in. in diameter; martingale 
stay, % in. in diameter. The throat and 
peak halyards are % in. in diameter; 
jib halyards, % in. in diameter. 

The main sheet rigging is iVi n * Rus¬ 
sian bolt rope; jibs, iVin. manila bolt 
rope, 4-strand; jib-sheet, %-in. manila 
bolt rope. Four %-in. bronze turn- 
buckles, Fig. 34, are used for the 
shrouds; one %-in. turnbuckle for the 
jibstay and one for the bobstay; four 
%-in, turnbuckles for the runner plank 
stays, and one for the martingale stay. 

Two rope blocks for %-in. wire rope, 
Fig. 10, are used for the peak and 
throat, and one block for the wire rope 
% in. in diameter for the jib halyard. 
Four 6-in. and one 7-in. cleats, Fig. 18, 
are used. The blocks shown in Fig. 11 
are used for the main and jib sheets. 
The steering arrangement is shown in 
Figs. 4 and 5. The tiller is 3% ft. long; 
rudder post, 1% in. in diameter; 
shoulder to lower end of jaws, 4 in.; 
depth of jaws, 2% in.;. length of post 
including screw top, 12 in. The rubber 
washer acts as a spring on rough ice. 

In Figs. 13, 14, 15 and 16 are shown 
metal bands for the nose of the back¬ 
bone, and Figs. 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 
show the saddles that fit over the back¬ 
bone and hold the runner plank in 
place. There are two sets of these. A 
chock should be sunk in the runner 
plank at each side to connect with the 
backbone to keep it from slipping side- 
wise as the boat rises in the air. The 
martingale spreader is shown in Figs. 
24 and 25. Straps through which the 
ring bolts for the shrouds pass on the 
ends to fasten the turnbuckles. for the 
runner plank guys are shown in Figs. 
26 and 27. The bobstay spreaders are 
shown in Figs. 28, 29 and 30. In Fig. 
31 is shown the top plate for the rudder 
post and in Figs. 32 and 33, the lower 
plate for same. The mast step is shown 


310 


in Figs. 35, 36 and 37. Two positions 
of the jib traveler are shown in Fig. 
38. The anchor plate for the bobstay 
under the cockpit is shown in Figs. 39 
and 40. 

At the nose and heel the runner 
plank guys end in a loop. The bobstay 
has a loop at the nose and ends in a 
turnbuckle that fastens to the anchor 
plate under the cockpit, aft. The 
shrouds, jibstay and martingale have 
loops at the masthead and are spliced 
bare over solid thimbles. The loops are 
finished in pigskin and served with soft 
cotton twine over the splice and var¬ 
nished. The parceling is done with in¬ 
sulating tape. Serve the tiller with 
soft cotton twine and ride a second 
serving over the first. For the halyards 
hoisting use a jig shown in Fig. 46. 


The thimble shown in Fig. 47 is made 
by splicing the rope to the thimble at 
running part of halyard and passing 
back and forth through cleat and 
thimble. This gives a quick and strong 
purchase and does away with cumber¬ 
some blocks of the old-fashioned jig. 
The jib-sheet leads aft to the steering 
cockpit. The main-sheet ends in a jig 
of a single block and a single block with 
becket. Be sure that your sail covers 
are large enough—the sail maker al¬ 
ways makes them too tight. The cock¬ 
pit covers must fit tightly around the 
cockpit rail. Many boats have sail and 
cockpit covers in one piece. 

The woodwork may be finished as 
desired by the builder. The dimen¬ 
sions of the sails are given in the gen¬ 
eral drawing, Fig. 1. 


Turning Lights On and Off from Any Number of Places 


This can be done by the use of any 
number of reversing switches such as 


a B co 



those shown at B and C. These are 
inserted between the two-way switches 
A and D. Turning such a switch up or 
down connects the four contact pieces 
either diagonally as at C, or length¬ 
wise as at B. The diagram shows con¬ 
nection from A to D, when the lamps 
will be on, but by turning either of 
these four switches into its alternative 
position, shown by the dotted lines, the 
circuit will be broken and the lights 
extinguished. When this has been 
done, the circuit may be restored and 
the lamps lighted again by altering 
either of the four switches in exactly 
the same way, and so on. 

It will be observed that a reversing 
switch used in this way practically un¬ 


does whatever is done by the other 
switches. In the accompanying dia¬ 
gram only two reversing switches are 
shown and the lights can be independ¬ 
ently controlled from four distinct 
positions. Any number of reversing 
switches can be placed between the 
two-way switches A and D to increase 
the number of places from which the 
lights could be turned on and off.— 
Contributed by J. S. Dow, Mayfield, 
London. 


How to Make an Electric Pendant 
Switch 

It is often desired to use a pendant 
switch for controlling clusters of in¬ 
candescent lamps. When such a 
switch is not at hand, a very good 
substitute can be made by screwing a 
common fuse plug into a key socket 
and connecting the socket in series 
with the lamps to be controlled. In 
this way you get a safe, reliable, fused 
switch.—Contributed by C. C. Heyder, 
Hansford, W. Va. 


CNever guess the length of a piece of 
work—measure it. 
















311 


Home-Made Water Motor 


The small water motor shown in the 
illustration is constructed in the same 
manner as a German toy steam tur¬ 
bine. The wheel, which is made of 
aluminum in. thick and 7 in. in di¬ 
ameter, has 24 blades attached to it. 

The lugs or extensions carrying the 
rim must be made from the metal of 
the wheel, therefore a circle 8 in. in di¬ 
ameter must be first described on the 
aluminum plate, then another circle 7 
in. in diameter within the first and then 
a circle for the base of the blades, 3% 
in. in diameter. Twenty-four radial 
lines at equal distances apart are drawn 
between the two smaller circles and a 
14 -in. hole drilled at the intersecting 
points of the radial lines and the inner¬ 
most circle. 

Centrally between each pair of ra¬ 
dial lines and between the two outer 
circles, % by %-in. lugs are marked out 
and the metal cut away as shown in 
Fig. 1. A %-in. hole is then drilled in 
the center of each lug. Each division is 
separated by cutting down each radial 
line to the %-in. hole with a hacksaw. 
Each arm is then given a quarter turn, 
as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 
2, and the lug bent over at right angles 
to receive the rim. The rim is made of 
the same material as the disk and con¬ 
tains twenty-four %-in. holes corre¬ 
sponding to those in the lugs to re¬ 
ceive brass bolts %-in. long. 

The disks PP were taken from the 
ends of a discarded typewriter platen, 
but if these cannot be readily obtained, 
they can be turned from metal or a 
heavy flat disk used instead. 

The casing was made from two alu¬ 
minum cake pans whose diameter was 
8 in. at the base, increasing to 9 in. at 
the rim. The centers of these were lo¬ 
cated and a %-in. hole drilled for the 
shaft. The 
disks P are 
the same as 
used on the 
wheel. Six holes %-in. in diameter were 
drilled through the flat part of the rims 
while the two halves were held together 
in a vise. Bolts were placed through 


these holes to join the casing when 
ready for assembling. One side of the 
casing was then bolted to two 4-in. or¬ 
dinary metal shelf brackets which were 



screwed to a substantial wood base. 
This kept one-half of the casing inde- 
pendent of the main structure so that 
the wheel is easily accessible. 

The nozzle was made of %-in. brass 
pipe which was first filled with molten 
babbitt metal. When the metal was 
cool, a %-in. hole was drilled halfway 
through the length of the tube, the hole 
being continued through to the other 
end by means of a %-in. drill. The 
lower orifice was then slightly en¬ 
larged with a small taper reamer, and 
the upper portion of the bore was 
reamed out almost to the brass to make 
a smooth entrance for the water. 

A fixture to hold this nozzle is shown 
in Fig. 3. It was cast of babbitt metal 
in a wood mold. The hole for the noz¬ 
zle was drilled at an angle of 20 deg. 
to the plate part. An alternative and 
perhaps easier way would be to insert 
the nozzle in the mold at the proper 
angle and cast the metal around it. A 
hole was then cut in one of the sides of 
the casing at a point 2% in. along a 
horizontal line from the center. The 
nozzle fixture was then bolted on with 






















312 


the exit orifice of the nozzle pointing 
downward and through the hole in the 
casing. 

Six %-in. holes were drilled through 
the flat portions of the rims while the 
two halves of the casing were held se¬ 
curely together in a vise. Bolts were 
used in these holes to join the casing. 


The wheel was used on the drip- 
board of a kitchen sink and no pro¬ 
vision was made to carry off the spent 
water except to cut two %-in. holes in 
the bottom of the casing and allowing 
the waste to flow off directly into the 
sink.—Contributed by Harry F. Lowe, 
Washington, D. C. 


Device for Baseball Throwing Practice 

Anyone training to be a baseball 
player will find the device shown in the 
accompanying illustration a great help 




Ball Bounding on Concrete Slabs 


when practicing alone. It consists of 
two cement slabs, one flat and upright, 
the other curved and on the ground. 
The vertical slab is fastened securely 
against a fence, barn or shed. The 
barn or the shed is preferable, for if 
the slab is fastened to a fence, the ball 
will bound over a great many times and 
much time will be lost in finding it. 

The player stands as far as he cares 
from the slabs and throws the ball 
against the lower slab. The ball im¬ 
mediately rebounds to the upright slab 
and returns with almost as great a 
force as it was delivered. If the 
thrower does not throw the ball ex¬ 
actly in the same spot each time, the 
ball will not rebound to the same place, 
consequently the eye and muscles are 
trained to act quickly, especially if the 
player stands within 15 or 20 ft. of the 
slabs and throws the ball with great 
force. 


This apparatus also teaches a person 
to throw accurately, as a difference in 
aim of a few inches on the lower slab 
may cause the ball to fly away over the 
player’s head on the rebound.—Con¬ 
tributed by F. L. Oilar, La Fayette, 
Indiana. 


How to Mail Photographs 

Cut a piece of cardboard 1 in. longer 
and 1 in. wider than the mount of the 
photograph and lay the picture on it in 
the center. This allows a %-in. border 
on all sides of the photograph. Punch 
two holes 1 in. apart at A, B, C and D, 
Fig. 1, in the cardboard border close 
to the edge of the picture. Put a string 
up through the hole B, Fig. 2, then 
across the corner of the photograph and 
down through the hole C and up 
through hole D, then to E, etc., until 
the starting point A is reached, and tie 
the ends. 

The photograph will not get dam¬ 
aged, if it is covered with tissue paper 
and placed with the face to the card¬ 
board. The extension border of card¬ 
board prevents the edges of the mount 
from being damaged and the corners 




Fig.I Fig.2 

Back for Mailing Photo 


from wearing. Both cardboard and 
photograph are wrapped together in 
paper, and the package is ready for 
mailing.—Contributed by Earl R. 
Hastings, Corinth, Vt, 


















































313 


A Mystifying Watch Trick 


Borrow a watch from one of the au¬ 
dience and allow the owner to place it 
in the box, as shown in Fig. 1. This 
box should be about 3 in. long, 4 in. 
wide and 2% in. deep, says the Scien¬ 
tific American. It should be provided 
with a hinged cover, M, with a lock, N. 
The tricky part of this box is the side 
S, which is pivoted at T by driving 
two short nails into it, one through the 
front side and the other through the 
back, so that when S is pushed in at 
the top, it swings around as shown in 
Fig. 1 and allows the watch to slide 
out into the performer’s hand. The 
side S should fit tightly when closed, 
so that the box may be examined with¬ 
out betraying the secret. As the side 
S extends down to the bottom of the 
box, it facilitates the use of the fingers 
in pulling outward at the lower part 
while the thumb is pressing inward at 
the top part. The side of the box op¬ 
posite S should be built up in the same 
way, but not pivoted. 

Use a flat-bottom tumbler, A, Fig. 2, 
containing an inner cone, B, for 
the reproduction of the watch. The 
cone is made of cardboard pasted to¬ 
gether so it fits snugly inside of the 
tumbler. The cone is closed except 
at the bottom, then bran is pasted on 
the outside surfaces to make the tum¬ 
bler appear as if filled with bran when 
it is in place. Place the tumbler with 
the cone inside on a table somewhat in 
the background. Put some loose bran 
on top of the cone and allow the cork, 
attached as shown in B, Fig. 2, to hang 
down on the outside of the tumbler, 
away from the audience. A large hand¬ 
kerchief should be laid beside the tum¬ 
bler. . 

After the watch has been placed in 
the box, Fig. 1, the performer takes the 
box in his left hand, and while in the 
act of locking it with his right hand 
secures possession of the watch as pre¬ 
viously explained. Tossing the key 
to the owner of the watch, the per¬ 
former places the box on a chair or 
table near the audience and, with the 
watch securely palmed, walks back to 


get the tumbler. Standing directly in 
front of the tumbler with his back to¬ 
ward the audience, the performer 



Parts for the Watch Trick 


quickly raises the cone with his right 
hand, lays the watch in the bottom of 
the tumbler and replaces the cone. 

The loaded tumbler and the hand¬ 
kerchief are then brought forward, and 
the former is placed in full view of the 
audience with the cork hanging down 
behind it. The performer calls atten¬ 
tion to the tumbler being full of bran 
and picks up some of it from the top 
to substantiate his statement. He 
then spreads the handkerchief over 
the tumbler, commands the watch to 
pass from the box into the tumbler 
and the bran to disappear. 

The box is then handed to the owner 
of the watch so that he may unlock it 
with the key he holds. As soon as 
the box is found to be empty, the per¬ 
former grasps the handkerchief spread 
over the tumbler, also the cork tied to 
the cone. Raising the handkerchief, 
he carries up the cone within it, leav¬ 
ing the watch in the bottom to be re¬ 
turned to its owner. 













314 


Locking Several Drawers with One 
Lock 

A series or row of drawers can be 
secured with one lock by using the de¬ 
vice shown 
in the 
sketch. 
This 
method 
takes away 
several 
d a n g 1 ing 
locks and 
the carry¬ 
ing of many 
keys. A rod 
is used 
through the 
various 
staples over 
the hasps. 
The rod is 
upset o n 
one end and 
flat t e n e d 
to make sufficient metal for drilling a 
hole large enough to insert the bar of 
a padlock. If the bar is made of steel 
and hardened, it is almost impossible to 
cut it in two.—Contributed by F. W. 
Bentley, Huron, S. Dak. 



Testing Small Electric Lamps 

The accompanying sketch shows the 
construction of a handy device for 
testing miniature electric lights. The 
base is made to take in an electric 
flash lamp battery. Two strips of 
brass, C and D, are connected to the 
battery. The lamp is tested by put- 


.A 




Section 

through A-D 


ting the metal end on the lower brass 
strip and the side against the upper 
one. A great number of lamps can be 


tested in a short time by means of this 
device.—Contributed by Abner B. 
Shaw, North Dartmouth, Mass. 


How to Make a Pin Ball 

The* pin ball shown in the illustra¬ 
tion is made of calfskin modeling 
leather and saddler’s felt. Two pieces 
of leather are used, and one piece of 
felt, all three being cut circular to a 
diameter of about 3 in. The felt may 
be about % in. thick, and leather of a 
deep brown color is recommended. 

Moisten the leather on the back side 
with as much water as it will take with¬ 
out showing through the face. Lay it 
on a sheet of heavy glass or copper, or 
other hard, smooth, nonabsorbent ma¬ 
terial. Place the design, which has 
been previously prepared, over the face 
of the leather. Indent the outline of 
the design with a nutpick or any other 
pointed tool that will not cut the 
leather. Remove the pattern, and go 


Made of Leather and Felt 

over the outline again to deepen the 
tool marks. 

The space between the border and 
the design is now stamped with a cup- 
pointed nail set, care being taken not 
to cut the leather, especially if the tool 
be new. Rubbing the edges of the nail 
set over a piece of emery paper will 
serve to dull them, if they are too 
sharp. 

When the designs have been worked 
on the leather, paste or glue the leather 
to the two sides of the belt, and punch 
a hole in the center through which to 
place a cord for hanging up the ball. 


















































315 


Cleaning Woodwork 

An easy method of removing the 
dirt and old varnish at the same time 
around a kitchen sink is 
told by a correspondent of 
National Magazine as fol¬ 
lows : 

Make a soft soap from 
common yellow laundry 
soap, and when it is al- 
mostcoldstirin one 
tablespoonful of concen¬ 
trated lye and one-half 
cupful of kerosene. When 
the mixture becomes a 
heavy paste, it is ready to 
be spread over the wood¬ 
work with a paint brush. 

Allow the soap to remain 
for a day and a half, then wash it off 
with plenty of hot water. The wood¬ 
work will be clean and ready for var¬ 
nishing when it dries out. 


Ornamental Metal Inkstand 

The metal required for making this 
stand is jq in. in width and may be 





Bill File Made of Corkscrews 

An ordinary corkscrew makes a con¬ 
venient file for small bills or memo¬ 
randa. It may be thrown in any posi¬ 
tion without danger of the papers slip¬ 
ping off. A rack to hold a number of 
files can be made of a wood strip (Fig. 
1) fitted with hooks or screweyes cut 
in a hook shape, as shown in Fig. 2. 



Fig.3 


Bill File 


Inkstand and Details of Frame 

steel, brass or copper. The shaping is 
done as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. There 
are, in all, eight pieces to be bent. The 
two supports are each formed of one 
piece of metal with the exception that 
the end scroll pieces on the under side 
are made separately. Eight rivets are 
required to fasten the two horizontal 
rings to the supports. The glass re¬ 
ceptacle can be purchased at a station¬ 
ery store. 


Holding Eyeglasses Firm 

Persons who wear noseglasses and 
who are troubled with excessive per¬ 
spiration, should chalk the sides of the 
bridge of the nose before putting on 
the glasses. The latter will then never 
slip, even in the warmest weather. If 
the chalk shows, use a pink stick, which 
can be purchased from any art school 
or supply store. 


Single bills may be separated from the 
others and will remain separated as in 
3 .— Contributed by James M. 
Kane, Doylestown, Pa. 


Substitute for Gummed Paper 

* Gummed paper is a great conven¬ 
ience in the home especially for labels, 
but it is not always found among the 
household supplies. The gummed por¬ 
tions of unsealed envelopes in which 
circulars are received can be utilized 
for this purpose. Quite a large label 
may be made from these envelope flaps. 

















Repairing a Broken Phonograph 
Spring 


As I live a great distance from a 
railroad station, I did not care to pay 
the price, and await the time neces¬ 
sary to deliver a new phonograph 
spring to replace one that broke in my 
machine, and I repaired the old one in 
a creditable manner as follows: 

I forced the two ends of the break 
out where I could get at them, then 
heated each end separately with a pair 
of redhot tongs and turned a hook or 


A Small Bench Lathe Made of Pipe 
Fittings 

The most important machine in use 
in the modern machine or wood-work¬ 
ing shop is the lathe. The uses to 
which this wonderful machine can be 
put would be too numerous to describe, 
but there is hardly a mechanical oper¬ 
ation. in which the turning lathe does 
not figure. For this reason every ama¬ 
teur mechanic and wood-worker who 
has a workshop, no matter how small, 
is anxious to possess a lathe of some 




lap on them the same as the joints in 
knock-down stovepipes. When the 
ends were hooked together, the spring 
worked as good as new. The heated 
portion did not affect the strength of 
the spring.—Contributed by Marion P. 
Wheeler, Greenleaf, Oregon. 


Clf you wish to know whether or not 
the door or telephone bell rings dur¬ 
ing your absence, place a little rider 
of paper or cardboard on the clapper 
in such a way that it will be dislodged 
if the bell rings. 


sort. A good and substantial home¬ 
made lathe, which is suitable for wood¬ 
turning and light metal work, may be 
constructed from pipe and pipe fit¬ 
tings as shown in the accompanying 
sketch. 

The bed of this lathe is made of a 
piece of 1-in. pipe, about 30 in. long. 
It can be made longer or shorter, but 
if it is made much longer, a larger 
size of pipe should be used. The head- 
stock is made of two tees, joined by a 
standard long nipple as shown in Fig. 1. 
All the joints should be screwed 













































































































317 


up tight and then fastened with iVin. 
pins to keep them from turning. The 
ends of the bed are fixed to the base¬ 
board by means of elbows, nipples and 
flanges arranged as shown. The two 
bearings in the headstock are of brass. 
The spindle hole should be drilled and 
reamed after they are screwed in place 
in the tee. The spindle should be of 
steel and long enough to reach through 
the bearing and pulley and have 
enough end left for the center point. 
The point should extend about 1% in- 
out from the collar. The collar can be 
turned or shrunk on the spindle as de¬ 
sired. The end of the spindle should 
be threaded to receive a chuck. 

The tailstock is also made of two 
tees joined by a nipple. The lower tee 
should be bored out for a sliding fit 
on the bed pipe. The upper one should 
be tapped with a machine tap for the 
spindle which is threaded to fit it. The 
spindle has a 
handle fitted at 
one end and has 
the other end 
bored out for the 
Fig. 2 tailstock center. 

Both the tailstock and the headstock 
centerpoints should be hardened. A 
clamp for holding the tailstock spindle 
is made of a piece of strap iron, bent 
and drilled as shown. It is held to¬ 
gether by means of a small machine 
screw and a knurled nut. The tee 
should have a slot cut in it about one- 
half its length and it should also have 
one bead filed away so that the clamp 
will fit tightly over it. 

The hand rest is made from a taper¬ 
ing elbow, a tee and a forging. The 
forging can be made by a blacksmith 
at a small expense. Both the lower 
tees of the hand- 
rest and the tail- 
stock should be 
Fig. 3 provided with 

screw clamps to hold them in place. 

The pulley is made of hardwood 
pieces, % or 1 in. thick as desired. It 
is fastened to the spindle by means of 
a screw, as shown in Fig. 2, or a key 
can be used as well. 



Care must be taken to get the tail- 
stock center vertically over the bed, 
else taper turning will result. To do 
this, a straight line should be scratched 


Adjustable Blocks 



on the top of the bed pipe, and when 
the tailstock is set exactly vertical, a 
corresponding line made on this. This 
will save a great deal of time and 
trouble and possibly some errors. 

The two designs of chucks shown in 
Figs. 3 and 4 are very easy to make, 
and will answer for a great variety of 
work. 

As the details are clearly shown and 
the general dimensions given on the 
accompanying sketches, it should not 
be a difficult matter for the young me¬ 
chanic to construct this machine.— 
Contributed by W. M. Held, Laporte, 
Indiana. 


Holder for Flexible Lamp-Cord 

The holder is made of a round stick 
—a piece of a broom handle will do—as 
shown in Fig. 1. It is about 1 in. long 
with two notches cut out for the strands 
of the cord. These holders are easily 
made and will answer the purpose al¬ 
most as well as the ones made in porce¬ 
lain. Painting or enameling will im¬ 
prove not only their appearance, but 
also their insulating properties. Sev- 



Fig.I 

Ceiling-Cord Holder 


eral of them can be used along a line, 
as shown in Fig. 2.—Contributed by 
M. Musgrove, Boissevain, Man. 








































318 


Support for Double Clotheslines 

Anyone using a double clothesline 
over pulleys will find the arrangement 
shown in Fig. 1 for supporting the 



I 

_1 


Fi^. I 

Holder on a Clothesline 

lower line quite convenient. The sup¬ 
port is made of a piece of %-in. square 
or round wood which has a screw-eye 
turned intp each end. The line is run 
through these screw-eyes as shown in 
Fig. 2.—Contributed by W. W. Up- 
DeGraff, Fruitvale, Cal. 


Hot Pan or Plate Lifter 

Unless a person uses considerable 
caution, bad burns may be suffered 
when taking hot pies from an oven. 
If one reaches in and takes hold of the 
pie pan with a cloth, the arm is liable 
to touch the oven door and receive a 


shown, and then bent so as to stand 
out at an angle. The second loop is 
hinged to swing free on the opposite 
side of the handle. In use, the hinged 
side of the loop is dropped under one 
edge of a plate or pan and the rigid 
loop is then hooked under the oppo¬ 
site side. The weight of the pan or 
dish draws the loops together and 
there is little or no danger of a spill. 
The same lifter will pick up any size 
of plate or pan from a saucer to the 
largest pie plates.—Contributed by E. 
J. Cline, Ft. Smith, Ark. 


Weighting Indian Clubs 

An ordinary Indian club can be fixed 
so that different weights may be had 
without changing 
clubs. Each club is 
bored to receive lead 
washers which are held 
in place by a spiral 
spring. A bolt is run 
through from the 
handle end and fastened 
with a round nut. The 
lead washers and spring 
slip over the bolt as 
shown in the illustra- 
t i o n. Changing the 
number of washers 
changes the weight of 
the club.—Contributed 
by Walter W. White, 

Denver, Colo. 




burn. To obviate this, I made the de¬ 
vice shown in the sketch for lifting hot 
pie pans and plates. The handle is of 
pine about 18 in. long, and the two 
loops are made of heavy wire. The 
ends of the first loop of wire are put 
through the handle from the back, as 


Venting a Funnel 

When using a tight-fitting funnel in 
a small-neck bottle, trouble is usually 
experienced by the air causing a spill. 
This can be easily remedied by split¬ 
ting a match in half and tying the parts 
on the sides of the stem with thread.—- 
Contributed by Maurice Baudier, New 
Orleans, La. 


A screw may be turned into hard¬ 
wood easily, by boring a small hole 
and lubricating the screw threads with 
soft soap. 


















319 

© 


To Make “Centering” Unnecessary 

For drilling a hole in a chucked 
piece, centering is just one operation 
too many, if this method is followed: 

First, face off the end of the piece, 
making a true spot at least as big as the 
diameter of the drill. Put a center 
punch mark where the tool lines indi¬ 
cate the center of revolution. This 
serves as a rough guide for placing the 
drill between the tailstock center and 
the work as usual. Clamp a tool in the 
tool-post and, on starting the lathe, 
bring it in contact with the drill and 
keep it firmly so until the drill is in 
fully up to the lips. This prevents the 
drill from wobbling, and when once in 
true up to its size, it cannot change any 
more than under any other starting 
conditions. After being entered, the 
drill does not need the tool, which 
should be backed out of contact. 


Fountain Pen Cap Used as a Ruler 


When it is necessary to draw a short 
line and there is no ruler at hand, take 



with a retaining clip, all the better, as 
this will prove a safeguard against 
slipping. 


Vanishing Handkerchief Trick 

The necessary articles used in per¬ 
forming this trick are the handkerchief, 
vanish- 
ing wand, a 
long piece 
of glass tub¬ 
ing, about 
Yz in. shorter 
than the 
wand, and a 
paper tube 
closed at one 
end and 
covered with 
a cap at the 
other, says 
the Sphinx. 
The hand¬ 
kerchief rod, 
shown at C, 
abc d jg concealed 

in the paper tube A before the perform¬ 
ance. The glass tube B, after being 
shown empty, is put into the paper tube 
A, so that the handkerchief rod now is 
within it, unknown to the spectators. 
The handkerchief is then placed over 


the opening of the tube and pushed in 
by means of the wand. In doing this, 
the handkerchief and the rod. are 
pushed into the wand, as shown in D. 
After the wand is removed, the cap is 
placed over the paper tube % and this 
given to someone to hold. The com¬ 
mand for the handkerchief to vanish 
is given, and it is found to be gone 
when the glass tube is taken out of the 
paper cover. This is a novel way of 
making a handkerchief vanish. It can 
be used in a great number of tricks, 
and can be varied to suit the per¬ 
former. 


Removing Glass Letters from Windows 

Glass letters are removed in the same 
way as metal letters, by applying caus¬ 
tic soda or potash around the edges of 
the letters. As the cement softens, 
manipulate the point of a pocket knife 
under the edges of the letter until the 
caustic works completely under and 
makes it easy to lift the letters. With 
care and patience, every letter may be 
thus taken off without breakage. 






















































320 


A Guitar That Is Easy to Make 


A guitar having straight lines, giv¬ 
ing it an old-fashioned appearance, 
can be made by the home mechanic, 
and if care is taken in selecting the 
material, and having it thoroughly sea- 



Details of Guitar 


soned, the finished instrument will 
have a fine tone. The sides, ends and 
bottom are made of hard wood, prefer¬ 
ably hard maple, and the top should 
be made of a thoroughly seasoned 
piece of soft pine. The dimensioned 
pieces required are as follows: 

1 Top, re by 14 by 17 in. 

1 Bottom, t 3 b by 14 by 17 in. 

2 Sides, tb by 3% by 164£ in, 

1 End, t 3 b by 3% by 13 Vs in. 

1 End, t 3 b by 3 5 /s by 9% in. 

1 Neck, 1 by 2 T 5 B by 18H in. 

1 Fingerboard, t 3 b by 2% by 16 in. 

Cut the fingerboard tapering and 
fasten pieces cut from hatpins with 
small wire staples for frets. All di¬ 
mensions for cutting and setting are 
shown in the sketch. The neck is cut 
tapering from G to F and from J to F, 
with the back side rounding. A draw- 
knife is the proper tool for shaping the 
neck. Cut a piece of hard wood, % in. 
square and 1% in. long, and glue it to 
the neck at F. Glue the fingerboard 
to the neck and hold it secure with 
clamps while the glue sets. 

The brace at D is 1 in. thick, cut to 
any shape desired. The sides are 


glued together and then the front is 
glued on them. Place some heavy 
weights on top and give the glue time 
to dry. Fasten pieces of soft wood in 
the corners for braces. Glue the neck 
to the box, making it secure by the 
addition of a carriage bolt at A. 
A small block C is glued to the end to 
reinforce it for the bolt. Glue strips 
of soft wood, as shown by K, across 
the front and back to strengthen them. 
The back is then glued on and the 
outside smoothed with sandpaper. 

Make the bottom bridge by using 
an old hatpin or wire of the same size 
for E secured with pin staples. Glue 
the bridge on the top at a place that 
will make the distance from the bridge 
F to the bottom bridge E just 24 in. 
This dimension and those for the frets 
should be made accurately. Six holes, 
i 3 e in. in diameter, are drilled in the 
bottom bridge for pins. The turning 
plugs B and strings can be purchased 
at any music store.—Contributed by 
J. H. Stoddard, Carbondale, Pa. 


Greasing the Front Wheels of an 
Automobile 

The front wheel bearings of an au¬ 
tomobile can be greased without re¬ 
moving the wheels in the following 
manner: Remove the hub caps and 
fill them with heavy grease and then 
screw them in place. Continue this 
operation until the grease is forced be¬ 
tween all the bearings and out through 
the small clearance on the opposite side 
of the wheels. This should be done 
at least once every month to keep bear¬ 
ings well lubricated and free from grit. 
Dirt cannot enter a well filled bearing 
as easily as muddy water can enter a 
dry bearing.—Contributed by Chas. E. 
Frary, Norwalk, O. 


(Mold on wallpaper can be removed 
at once by applying a solution of 1 
part salicylic acid in 4 parts of 95-per¬ 
cent alcohol. 















































321 


'R' -»-* 



HOW TO MAKE A PAPER BOAT 

A Light Boat That Can Be Easily Carried 


Now you might think it absurd to 
advise making a paper boat, but it is 
not, and you will find it in some re¬ 
spects and for some purposes better 
than the wooden boat. When it is com¬ 
pleted you will have a canoe, probably 
equal to the Indian’s bark canoe. Not 
only will it serve as an ideal fishing 
boat, but when you want to combine 
hunting and fishing you can put your 
boat on your shoulders and carry it 
from place to place wherever you 
want to go and at the same time carry 
your gun in your hand. The material 
used in its construction is inexpensive 
and can be purchased for a few dol¬ 
lars. 

Make a frame (Fig. 1) on which to 
stretch the paper. A board 1 in. thick 
and about 1 ft. wide and 11% ft. long 
is used for a keel, or backbone, and is 
cut tapering for about a third of its 
length, toward each end, and beveled 



on the outer edges (A, Fig. 2). The 
cross-boards (B, B, Fig. 2) are next 
sawed from a pine board 1 in. ,thick. 
Shape these as shown by A, Fig. 4, 13 
in. wide by 26 in. long, and cut away in 
the center to avoid useless weight. Fas¬ 
ten them cross-wise to the bottom- 
board as shown in Fig. 1 and 2, with 
long stout screws, so as to divide the 
keel into three nearly equal parts. Then 
add the stem and stern pieces (C, C, 
Fig. 2). These are better, probably, 
when made of green elm. Screw the 
pieces to the bottom-board and bend 
them, as shown in Fig. 2, by means of 
a string or wire, fastened to a nail 
driven into the bottom. Any tough, 
light wood that is not easily broken 
when bending will do. Green wood is 
preferable, because it will retain the 
shape in which it has been bent better 
after drying. For the gunwales (a, 
a, Fig. 3), procure at a carriage factory, 



Details of Framework Construction 



























































322 


or other place, some light strips of ash, 
% in. thick. Nail them to the cross- 
boards and fasten to the end pieces 


(C, C,) in notches, by several wrap¬ 
pings of annealed iron wire or copper 
wire, as shown in Fig. 3. Copper wire 
is better because it is less apt to rust. 
For fastening the gunwales to the 
crossboards use nails instead of screws, 
because the nails are not apt to loosen 
and come out. The ribs, which are 
easily made of long, slender switches of 
osier willow, or similar material, are 
next put in, but before doing this, two 
strips of wood (b, b, Fig. 3) should be 
bent and placed as in Fig. 3. They are 
used only temporarily as a guide in put¬ 
ting in the ribs, and are not fastened, 
the elasticity of the wood being suffi¬ 
cient to cause them to retain their po¬ 
sition. The osiers may average a lit¬ 
tle more than % in. in thickness and 
should be cut, stripped of leaves and 
bark and put in place while green and 
fresh. They are attached to the bottom 
by means of shingle nails driven 
through holes previously made in them 
with an awl, and are then bent down 
until they touch the strips of ash (b, 
b, Fig. 3), and finally cut off even with 
the tops of the gunwales, and notched 
at the end to receive them (B, Fig. 4). 
Between the cross-boards the ribs are 


placed at intervals of 2 or 3 in., while 
in other parts they are as much as 5 
or 6 in. apart. The ribs having all been 
fastened in place as described, 
the loose strips of ash (b, b, 
Fig. 3) are withdrawn and the 
framework will appear some¬ 
what as in Fig. 1. In order 
to make all firm and to prevent 
the ribs from changing posi¬ 
tion, as they are apt to do, buy 
some split cane or rattan, such 
as is used for making chair- 
bottoms, and, after soaking it 
in water for a short time to ren¬ 
der it soft and pliable, wind it 
tightly around the gunwales 
and ribs where they join, and 
also interweave it among the 
ribs in other places, winding it 
about them and forming an 
irregular network over the 
whole frame. Osiers probably 
make the best ribs, but twigs 
of some other trees, such as 
hazel or birch, will answer nearly as 
well. For the ribs near the middle of 
the boat, twigs 5 or 6 ft. long are re¬ 
quired. It is often quite difficult to 
get these of ' sufficient thickness 
throughout, and so, in such cases, two 
twigs may be used to make one rib, 
fastening the butts side by side on 
the bottom-board, and the smaller ends 
to the gunwales, as before described. 
In drying, the rattan becomes very 
tight and the twigs hard and stiff. 

The frame-work is now complete and 
ready to be covered. For this purpose 
buy about 18 yd. of very strong wrap¬ 
ping-paper. It should be smooth on the 
surface, and very tough, but neither 
stiff nor very thick. Being made in 
long rolls, it can be obtained in almost 
any length desired. If the paper be 1 
yd. wide, it will require about two 
breadths to reach around the frame in 
the widest part. Cut enough of the roll 
to cover the frame and then soak it for 
a few minutes in water. Then turn 
the frame upside down and fasten the 
edges of the two strips of paper to it, by 
lapping them carefully on the under 
side of the bottom-board and tacking 
them to it so that the paper hangs down 


A 



Important Features of Construction 





323 


loosely on all sides. The paper is then 
trimmed, lapped and doubled over as 
smoothly as possible at the ends of the 
frame, and held in place by means of 
small clamps. It should be drawn tight 
along the edges, trimmed and doubled 
down over the gunwale, where it is 
firmly held by slipping the strips of ash 
(b, b) just inside of the gunwales into 
notches which should have been cut at 
the ends of the cross-boards. The 
shrinkage caused by the drying will 
stretch the paper tightly over the 
framework. When thoroughly dry, 
varnish inside and out with asphaltum 
varnish thinned with turpentine, and 
as soon as that has soaked in, apply a 
second coat of the same varnish, but 
with less turpentine; and finally cover 
the laps or joints of the paper with 
pieces of muslin stuck on with thick 
varnish. Now remove the loose strips 
of ash and put on another layer of 
paper, fastening it along the edge of 
the boat by replacing the strips as be¬ 
fore. When the paper iz dry, cov"-r the 
laps with muslin as was done with the 
first covering. Then varnish the whole 
outside of the boat several times until 
it presents a smooth shining surface. 
Then take some of the split rattan and, 
after wetting it, wind it firmly around 
both gunwales and inside strip, pass¬ 
ing it through small holes punched in 
the paper just below the gunwale, until 
the inside and outside strips are bound 
together into one strong gunwale. 
Then put a piece of oil-cloth in the 
boat between the cross-boards, tacking 
it to the bottom-board. This is done to 
protect the bottom of the boat. 

Now you may already have a canoe 
that is perfectly water-tight, and steady 
in the water, if it has been properly 
constructed of good material. If not, 
however, in a few days you may be 
disappointed to find that it is becoming' 
leaky. Then the best remedy is to 
cover the whole boat with unbleached 
muslin, sewed at the ends and tacked 
along the gunwales. Then tighten it 
by shrinking and finally give it at least 
three coats of a mixture of varnish and 
paint. This will doubtless stop the 


leaking entirely and will add but little 
to either the weight or cost. 

Rig the boat with wooden or iron 
rowlocks (B, B, Fig. 5), preferably 
iron, and light oars. You may put in 



several extra thwarts or cross-sticks, 
fore and aft, and make a movable seat 
(A, Fig. 5.) With this you will doubt¬ 
less find your boat so satisfactory that 
you will make no more changes. 

For carrying the boat it is convenient 
to make a sort of short yoke (C, Fig, 
5), which brings all the weight upon 
the shoulders, and thus lightens the 
labor and makes it very handy to carry. 


To Hang Heavy Things on a Nail 

Boys will find many places around 
the house, where a 
hook to hang things 
on will be a great 
convenience. Instead 
of buying hooks use 
wire nails, and if 
driven as shown in 
the cut, they will 
support very heavy 
weights. Drive the 
lower nail first. 






































324 


A Home-Made Elderberry Huller 

As we had only one day to pick 
elderberries, we wanted to get as many 
of them as we could in that time. We 
could pick them faster than they could 



NATURAL SrZE OF WIRE Fig « 


Details of the Elderberry Huller 

be hulled by hand so we made a huller 
to take along with us to hull the ber¬ 
ries as fast as they were picked. We 
procured a box and made a frame, Fig. 
1, to fit it easily, then made another 
frame the same size and put a piece of 
wire mesh between them as shown in 
Fig. 2, allowing a small portion of the 
mesh to stick out of the frames. The 
top frame would keep the berries from 
rolling or jumping off, and the bottom 
frame kept the wire mesh and frame 
from being shaken off the box. The 
projecting edges of the mesh would 


keep the frame on the top edge of the 
box. The top view of the frame is 
shown in Fig. 1 and the end in Fig. 5, 
and the box on which the frame rests 
in Fig. 3. The actual size of the wire 
mesh used is shown in Fig. 4. One 
person could hull with this huller as 
many berries as two persons would 
pick.—Contributed by Albert Niemann, 
Pittsburg, Pa. 


How to Make a Bulb on a Glass Tube 

As a great many persons during the 
winter months are taking advantage of 
the long evenings to experiment in one 
way or another, the following method 
of forming bulbs on glass tubes may 
be of interest. A common method is 
to heat the part to be formed and by 
blowing in one end of the tube grad¬ 
ually expand the glass. This way has 
its drawbacks, as many are not suf¬ 
ficiently familiar with the work to 
blow a uniform blast, and the result is, 
a hole is blown through the side of the 
tube by uneven heating or blowing. 

A good way to handle this work, is 
to take the tube and 1 or 2 in. more in 
length than the finished article is to be 
and place one end over an alcohol 
flame, and by holding a spare piece of 
tubing against the end allow them 
both to come to a melting heat, then 
pull apart and instead of breaking off 
the long thread thus formed, simply 
hold it in the flame at an angle of 45 
deg. and melt it down and close the 
end at the same time. Close the other 
end with the same operation; this 
makes the tube airtight. 

Gradually heat the tube at the point 
where the bulb is to be formed, slowly 
turning the tube to get a uniform heat. 
The air inside of the tube becoming 
heated will expand, and the glass, be¬ 
ing softer where the flame has been 
applied, will be pushed out in the shape 
of a bulb. A great deal of care should 
be taken not to go to extremes, as the 
bulb will burst with a loud report if 
the heat is applied too long. The best 
results are obtained by heating the 
glass slowly and then the bulb can be 
formed with regularity. This is an 














































































325 


easy way to make a thermometer tube. 
After the bulb is formed, the other end 
of the tube can be opened by heating, 
drawing out and breaking the thread 
like glass.—Contributed by A. Oswald. 


center along concentric rings outward, 
then reverse. 

The candle holders may have two, 
three, four, or six arms, and are bent 
to shape by means of the round-nosed 


How to Make a Sconce 

A sconce is a candlestick holder, so 
made that it has a reflector of brass or 
copper and is to hang upon the wall. 
The tools necessary are a riveting 
hammer, file, metal shears, rivet punch, 
flat and round-nosed pliers, screwdriver 
and sheet brass or copper No. 23 gauge. 

To make the sconce proceed as fol¬ 
lows : First, cut off a piece of brass so 
that it shall have % in. extra metal all 
around; second, with a piece of carbon 
paper, trace upon the brass lines that 
shall represent the margin of the sconce 
proper, also trace the decorative de¬ 
sign ; third, with a nailset make a series 
of holes in the extra margin about % 
in. apart and large enough to take in a 
%-in. thin screw; fourth, fasten the 
metal to a thick board by inserting 
screws in these holes; fifth, with a 
twenty-penny wire nail that has had 
the sharpness of its point filed off, 
stamp the background of the design 
promiscuously. By holding the nail 
about % in. above the work and strik¬ 
ing it with the hammer, at the same 
time striving to keep its point at *4 in. 
above the metal, very rapid progress 
can be made. This stamping lowers 
the background and at the same time 
raises the design. Sixth, chase or 
stamp along the border of the design 
and background using a nail filed to 
a chisel edge. This is to make a clean 
sharp division between background and 
design. Seventh, when the stamping 
is complete remove the screws and 
metal from the board and cut off the 
extra margin with the metal shears. 
File the edges until they are smooth to 
the touch. 

The drip cup is a piece of brass cut 
circular and shaped by placing the 
brass over a hollow in one end of a 
block. Give the metal a circular, mo¬ 
tion, at the same time beat it with a 
round-nosed mallet. Work from the 



Completed Sconce 

Shaping the Holders Riveting 


pliers. The form of the brackets which 
support the drip cups may be seen in 
the illustration. 

Having pierced the bracket, drip cup, 
and holder, these three parts are riveted 
together as indicated in the drawing. 
It will be found easier usually if the 
holder is not shaped until after the 
riveting is done. The bracket is then 
riveted to the back of the sconce. Small 
copper rivets are used. 

It is better to polish all the pieces 
before fastening any of them together. 
Metal polish of any kind will do. After 
the parts have been assembled a lac¬ 
quer may be applied to keep the metal 
from tarnishing. 







326 


How To Make a Hectograph 

A hectograph is very simply and eas¬ 
ily made and by means of it many 
copies of writing can be obtained from 
a single original. 

Make a tray of either tin or paste- 



Making Copies with the Hectograph 


board, a little larger than the sheet of 
paper you ordinarily use and about % 
in. deep. Soak 1 oz. of gelatine in cold 
water over night and in the morning 
pour off the water. Heat 6% oz. of 
glycerine to about 200 deg. F. on a 
water bath, and add the gelatine. This 
should give a clear glycerine solution 
of gelatine. 

Place the tray so that it is perfectly 
level and pour in the gelatinous com¬ 
position until it is nearly level with 
the edge of the tray. Cover it so the 
cover does not touch the surface of the 
composition and let it stand six hours, 
when it will be ready for use. 

Make the copy to be reproduced on 
ordinary paper with aniline ink; using 
a steel pen, and making the lines rather 
heavy so they have a greenish color in 
the light. A good ink may be made of 
methyl violet 2 parts, alcohol 2 parts, 
sugar 1 part, glycerine 4 parts, and wa¬ 
ter 24 parts. Dissolve the violet in the 
alcohol mixed with the glycerine; dis¬ 
solve the sugar in the water and mix 
both solutions. 

When the original copy of the writ¬ 
ing is ready moisten the surface of the 
hectograph slightly with a sponge, lay 


the copy face down upon it and smooth 
down, being careful to exclude all air 
bubbles and not shifting the paper. 
Leave it nearly a minute and raise one 
corner and strip it from the pad, where 
will remain a reversed copy of the in¬ 
scription. 

Immediately lay a piece of writing 
paper of the right size on the pad, 
smooth it down and then remove as be¬ 
fore. It will bear a perfect copy of the 
original. Repeat the operation until 
the number of copies desired is ob¬ 
tained or until the ink on the pad is 
exhausted. Fifty or more copies can 
be obtained from a single original. 

When through using the hectograph 
wash it off with a moist sponge, and it 
will be ready for future use. If the 
surface is impaired at any time it can 
be remelted in a water bath and poured 
into a tray as before, if it has not ab¬ 
sorbed too much ink. 


How to Make a Sailomobile 

By Frank Mulford, Shiloh, N. J. 

I had read of the beach automobiles 
used on the Florida coast; they were 
like an ice boat with a sail, except they 
had wheels instead of runners. So I 
set to work to make something to take 
me over the country roads. 

I found and used seven fence pickets 
for the frame work, and other things 
as they were needed. I spliced two 
rake handles together for the mast, 
winding the ends where they came to¬ 
gether with wire. A single piece would 
be better if you can get one long 
enough. The gaff, which is the stick 
to which the upper end of the sail is 
fastened, is a broomstick. The boom, 
the stick at the bottom of the sail, was 
made of a rake handle with a broom¬ 
stick spliced to make it long enough. 
Mother let me have a sheet, which I 
put down on the floor and cut in the 
shape of a mainsail. The wind was 
the cheapest power to be found, thus 
it was utilized; the three wheels were 
cast-off bicycle wheels. 

I steer with the front wheel, which 
was the front wheel of an old bicycle 
























































327 


with the fork left on. The axle be- were the tools used. Slats made the 
tween the rear wheels is an iron bar seat and a cushion from the house made 
which cost me 15 cents, and the pulley it comfortable, and in a week every- 



Sailomobile for Use on Country Roads 

which raises and lowers the sail cost thing was ready for sailing. 

5 cents. Twenty cents was all I spent, Once it was started with only my lit- 
all the rest I found. tie cousin in it and I had to run fast 

A saw, hammer, and brace and bit to catch up. 






328 


A Home-Made Magic Lantern 


The essential parts of a magic lantern 
are a condensing lens to make the beam 
of light converge upon the slide to 
illuminate it evenly, a projecting lens 



Fig. 1 


Lantern House 

with which to throw an enlarged pic¬ 
ture of the illuminated slide upon a 
screen and some appliances for pre¬ 
serving the proper relation of these 
parts to each other. The best of 
materials should be used and the parts 
put together with care to produce a 
clear picture on the screen. 

The first to make is the lamp house 
or box to hold the li'ght. Our illustra¬ 
tion shows the construction for an 
electric light, yet the same box may be 
used for gas or an oil lamp, provided 
the material is of metal. A tin box 
having dimensions somewhere near 
those given in the diagrammatic sketch 
may be secured from your local grocer, 
but if such a box is not found, one can 
be made from a piece of tin cut as 
shown in Fig. 1. When this metal is 
bent at right angles on the dotted lines 
it will form a box as shown in Fig. 2 


which is placed on a baseboard, % to 
% in. thick, 8 in. wide, and 14 in. long. 
This box should be provided with a 
reflector located just back of the lamp. 

Procure a plano-convex or a bi-con- 
vex 6-in. lens with a focal length of 
from 15 to 20 in. and a projecting lens 
2 in. in diameter with such a focal 
length that will give a picture of the 
required size, or a lens of 12-in. focus 
enlarging a 3-in. slide to about 6 ft. at 
a distance of 24 ft. 

The woodwork of the lantern should 
be of %-in., well seasoned pine, white 
wood or walnut and the parts fastened 
together with wood screws, wire brads, 
or glue, as desired. The board in which 
to mount the condensing lens is 16 in. 
wide and 15 in. high, battened on both 
ends to keep the wood from warping. 
The board is centered both ways, and, 
at a point 1 in. above the center, de¬ 
scribe a 9-in. circle with a compass and 
saw the wood out with a scroll or key¬ 
hole saw. If a small saw is used, and 
the work carefully done, the circular 
piece removed will serve to make the 
smaller portion of the ring for holding 
the condensing lens. This ring is made 
up from two rings, A and B, Fig. 3. 
The inside and outside diameters of the 
ring B are % in. greater than the cor¬ 
responding diameters of ring A, so 
when fastened together concentrically 
an inner rabbet is formed for the recep¬ 
tion of the lens and an outer rabbet to 
fit against the board C in and against 
which it rotates being held in place by 
buttons, DD. 



Magic Lantern Details 





































































329 


A table, E, about 2 ft. long is fas¬ 
tened to the board C with brackets F 
and supported at the outer end with a 
standard. The slide support, G, and the 
lens slide, H, are constructed to slip 
easily on the table, E, the strips II 
serving as guides. Small strips of tin, 
JJ, are bent as shown and fastened at 
the top and bottom of the rectangular 
opening cut in the support G for hold¬ 
ing the lantern slides. 

All the parts should be joined to 
gether snugly and the movable parts 
made to slide freely and when all is 
complete and well sandpapered, apply 
two coats of shellac varnish. Place 
the lamphouse on the bottom board be¬ 
hind the condensing lens and the 
lantern is ready for use. 

The proper light and focus may be 
obtained by slipping the movable parts 
on the board E, and when the right 
position is found for each, all lantern 
slides will produce a clear picture on 
the screen, if the position of the lantern 
and screen is not changed.—Con¬ 
tributed by Stuart Mason Kerr, St. 
Paul, Minn. 


A Quickly Made Lamp 

A very simple lamp can be made 
from materials which are available in 
practically every household in the fol¬ 
lowing manner: 
A cheap glass 
tumbler is partly 
filled with water 
and then about 
y 2 in. of safe, 
light burning oil, 
placed on the 
water. Cut a 
thin strip from 
an^ordinary cork 
and make a hole 
in the center to 
carry a short 
piece of wick. 
The wick should 
be of such a length as to dip into the 
oil, but not long enough to reach the 
water. The upper surface of the cork 
may be protected from the flame with 
a small piece of tin bent over the edges 


and a hole punched in the center for 
the wick. The weight of the tin will 
force the cork down into the oil. The 
level of the oil should be such as to 
make the flame below the top of the 
tumbler and the light then will not be 
blown out with draughts. The ar¬ 
rangement is quite safe as, should the 
glass happen to upset, the water at 
once extinguishes the flame.—Contrib¬ 
uted by G. P. B. 


How to Make a Paper Aeroplane 


A very interesting and Instructive 
toy aeroplane can be made as shown in 
the accompanying illustrations. A sheet 



Folding the Paper 


of paper is first folded, Fig. 1, then the 
corners on one end are doubled over, 
Fig. 2, and the whole piece finished up 
and held together with a paper clip as 
in Fig. 3. The paper clip to be used 
should be like the one shown in Fig. 4. 
If one of these clips is not at hand, 
form a piece of wire in the same shape, 
as it will be needed for balancing pur¬ 
poses as well as for holding the paper 
together. Grasp the aeroplane between 
the thumb and forefinger at the place 
marked A in Fig. 3, keeping the paper 
as level as possible and throwing it as 
you would a dart. The aeroplane will 
make an easy and graceful flight in a 
room where no air will strike it.—Con¬ 
tributed by J. H. Crawford, Schenec¬ 
tady, N. Y. 


Banana oil or amyl acetate is a good 
bronze liquid. 



































330 


A Wrestling Mat 

The cost of a wrestling mat is so 
great that few small clubs can afford to 
own one. As we did not see our way 



clear to purchase such a mat, I made 
one of six used bed mattresses (Fig. 1) 
purchased from a second-hand dealer. 
I ordered a canvas bag, 12 ft. 3 in. by 
12 ft. 9 in., from a tent company, to 
cover the mattresses. The bag con¬ 
sisted of two pieces with the seam 
along each edge. The mattresses were 
laid side by side and end to end and 
the bag placed on and laced up as 
shown in Fig. 2.—Contributed by Wal¬ 
ter W. White, Denver, Colo. 


A Pocket Voltammeter 

Remove the works and stem from 
a discarded dollar watch, drill two tV 
in. holes in the edge, % in. apart, and 
insert two binding-posts, Fig. 1, in¬ 
sulating them from the case with card¬ 
board. Fold two strips of light card¬ 
board, % in. wide, so as to form two 
oblong boxes, % in. long and T 3 e in. 
thick, open on the edges. On one of 
these forms wind evenly the wire taken 
from a bell magnet to the depth of 
Yg in. and on the other wind some 20- 
gauge wire to the same depth. Fasten 
the wire with gummed label to keep 
it from unwinding. 


Glue the coils to the back of the 
case and connect one wire from each 
binding-post as shown in Fig. 2, while 
the other two wires are connected to 
an induction coil lead which is inserted 
in the hole from which the stem was 
removed. Fasten a brass-headed tack 
to the case at the point F with sealing 
wax or solder and bend a wire in the 
shape shown in Fig. 3 to swing freely 
on the tack. Attach ^ piece of steel 
rod, % in. long, in the center coil, C, 
Fig. 2. 

A rubber band, D, connects the steel 
rod C with the top of the watch case. 
The ends of the rubber are fastened 
with sealing wax. The rubber keeps 
the pointer at zero or in the middle 
of the scale. Do not use too strong 
a rubber. A dial may be made by 
cutting a piece of stiff white paper so 
it will fit under the crystal of the watch. 
An arc is cut in the paper, as shown in 
Fig. 1, through which the indicator 
works. 

To calibrate the instrument, first 
mark the binding-post A, which is con¬ 
nected to the coil of heavy wire, for 
amperes and the other post, V, to the 
coil of small wire for volts. Connect 
the lead and the post marked A to one, 
two and three cells and each time mark 
the place of the pointer on the dial. 
Take corresponding readings on a 
standard ammeter and mark the fig¬ 
ures on the dial. The volt side of 
the dial may be calibrated in the same 
manner, using a voltmeter instead of 
the ammeter. The place where the 




F.g 3 


indicator comes to rest after discon¬ 
necting the current is marked zero.— 
Contributed by Edward M. Teasdale, 
Warren, Pa. 








331 


A Film Washing Trough 

The washing of films without scratch¬ 
ing them after they are developed 
and fixed is very difficult in hot 
weather. A convenient washing 
trough for washing full length films is 
shown in the accompanying sketch. 
The trough must be made for the size 
of the film to be washed. Cut a ^-in. 
board as long as the film and a trifle 
wider than the film’s width. Attach 
strips to the edges of the board to keep 
the water from spilling over the sides. 

Cut a hole in one side of a baking- 
powder can about half way between 
the top and bottom, large enough to 
admit a fair-sized stream of water from 
a faucet. Then solder the cover to the 
can and punch a number of holes about 
% in. apart along the opposite side 
from where the large hole was cut. 
Place this can on one end of the trough, 
as shown, with the large hole up. 

Some heavy wire bent in the shape 
of a U and fastened to the under side 
of the trough at the can end will fur¬ 
nish supports to keep that end of the 
trough the highest and place the open- 



Washing a Negative Film 



Burnt wood work done with an ordinary reading 
glass and the sun’s rays. 


one end of the film and then in the 
trough close to the can will hold it in 
position for washing. Five minutes’ 
washing with this device is sufficient 
to remove all traces of the hypo from 
the film.—Contributed by M. M. Hunt¬ 
ing, Dayton, O. 


The Diving Bottle 

This is a very interesting and easily 
performed experiment illustrating the 
transmission of pressure by liquids. 
Take a wide-mouthed bottle and fill 
almost full of water; then into this bot¬ 
tle place, mouth downward, a small vial 
or bottle having just enough air in the 
bottle to keep it barely afloat. Put a 
sheet of rubber over the mouth of the 
large bottle, draw the edge down over 
the neck and wrap securely with a piece 
of string thus forming a tightly 
stretched diaphragm over the top. 
When a finger is pressed on the rubber 















332 


the small bottle will slowly descend 
until the pressure is released when the 



small bottle will ascend. The moving of 


the small bottle is caused by the pres¬ 
sure transmitted through the water, 
thus causing the volume of air in the 
small tube to decrease and the bottle 
to descend and ascend when released as 
the air increases to the original volume. 

This experiment can be performed 
with a narrow-necked bottle, provided 
the bottle is wide, but not very thick. 
Place the small bottle in as before, tak¬ 
ing care not to have too much air in the 
bottom. If the cork is adjusted prop¬ 
erly, the bottle may be held in the 
hand and the sides pressed with the 
fingers, thus causing the small bottle 
to descend and ascend at will. If the 
small bottle used is opaque, or an 
opaque tube such as the cap of a foun¬ 
tain pen, many puzzling effects may 
be obtained.—Contributed by John 
Shahan, Auburn, Ala. 


How to Make an Inexpensive 
Wooden Fan 

Select a nice straight-grained piece 
of white pine about *4 in. thick, % in. 
wide and 4 in. long. Lay out the 
design desired and cut as shown in 
Fig. 1, and then soak the wood in hot 
water to make it soft and easy to split. 
Cut the divisions very thin with a 
sharp knife down to the point A, as 
shown in the sketch, taking care not 
to split the wood through the part left 
for the handle. The fan is then fin¬ 
ished by placing each piece over the 
other as in Fig. 2. This will make a 
very pretty ornament.—Contributed by 
Fred W. Whitehouse, Upper Troy, 
N. Y. 



Combination Telegraph and Tele¬ 
phone Line 

The accompanying diagrams show 
connections for a short line system 



(metallic circuit) of telegraph where a 
telephone may be used in combination 
on the line. The telephone receivers 
can be used both as receivers and trans¬ 
mitters, or ordinary telephone trans¬ 
mitters, induction coils and battery may 
be used in the circuit with a receiver. 
If a transmitter is used, its batteries 
may be connected in circuit with a 
common push button which is held 
down when using the telephone. On a 
1000-ft. line, four dry cells will be suffi¬ 
cient for the telegraph instruments and 
two cells for the telephone.—Contrib¬ 
uted by D. W. Miller. 






































333 


How to Make a Miniature Windmill 


The following description is how a 
miniature windmill was made, which 
gave considerable power for its size, 
even in a light breeze. Its smaller 
parts, such as blades and pulleys, were 
constructed of 1-in. sugar pine on ac¬ 
count of its softness. 

The eight blades were made from 
pieces 1 by 1% by in. Two opposite 
edges were cut away until the blade 
was about yk in. thick. Two inches 


tended to the ground. The 2 1 / 2 -in. pul¬ 
ley, I, Fig. 1, was keyed to shaft C, as 
shown in Fig. 4. The wire L was put 
through the hole in the axle and the 
two ends curved so as to pass through 
the two holes in the pulley, after which 
they were given a final bend to keep 
the pulley in place. The method by 
which the shaft C was kept from work¬ 
ing forward is shown in Fig. 5. The 
washer M intervened between the 



Fig.6 


Swivel 

Bearing 



were left uncut at the hub end. They 
were then nailed to the circular face 
plate A, Fig. 1, which was 6 in. in di¬ 
ameter and 1 in. thick. The center of 
the hub was lengthened by the wooden 
disk, B, Fig. 1, which was nailed to 
the face plate. The shaft C, Fig. 1, 
was V 4 -in. iron rod, 2 ft. long, and 
turned in the bearings detailed in Fig. 
2. J was a nut from a wagon bolt and 
was placed in the bearing to insure easy 
running. The bearing blocks were 3 
in. wide, 1 in. thick and 3 in. high with¬ 
out the upper half. Both bearings 
were made in this manner. 

The shaft C was keyed to the hub of 
the wheel, by the method shown in 
Fig. 3. A staple, K, held the shaft from 
revolving in the hub. This method was 
also applied in keying the 5-in. pulley 
F, to the shaft, G, Fig. 1, which ex¬ 


bearing block and the wire N, which 
was passed through the axle and then 
bent to prevent its falling out. Two 
washers were placed on shaft C, be¬ 
tween the forward bearing and the hub 
of the wheel to lessen the friction. 

The bed plate D, Fig. 1, was 2 ft. 
long, 3 in. wide and 1 in. thick and was 
tapered from the rear bearing to the 
slot in which the fan E was nailed. 
This fan was made of ^-in. pine 18 by 
12 in. and was cut the shape shown. 

The two small iron pulleys with 
screw bases, H, Fig. 1, were obtained 
for a small sum from a hardware dealer. 
Their diameter was 1% in* The belt 
which transferred the power from shaft 
C to shaft G was top string, with a 
section of rubber in it to take up slack. 
To prevent it from slipping on the two 



































334 


wooden pulleys a rubber band was 
placed in the grooves of each. 

The point for the swivel bearing was 
determined by balancing the bed plate, 
with all parts in place, across the thin 
edge of a board. There a ^-in. hole 
was bored in which shaft G turned. To 
lessen the friction here, washers were 
placed under pulley F. The swivel 
bearing was made from two lids of 
baking powder cans. A section was cut 
out of one to permit its being enlarged 
enough to admit the other. The smaller 
one, O, Fig. 6, was nailed top down, 
with the sharp edge to the underside 
of the bed plate, so that the %-in. hole 
for the shaft G was in the center. The 
other lid, G, was tacked, top down also, 
in the center of the board P, with brass 
headed furniture tacks, R, Fig. 6, which 
acted as a smooth surface for the other 
tin to revolve upon. Holes for shaft 
G were cut through both lids. Shaft 


G was but % in. in diameter, but to 
keep it from rubbing against the board 
P, a %-in. hole was bored for it, 
through the latter. 

The tower was made of four 1 by 1- 
in. strips, 25 ft. long. They converged 
from points on the ground forming an 
8-ft. square to the board P at the top 
of the tower. This board was 12 in. 
square and the corners were notched 
to admit the strips as shown, Fig. 1. 
Laths were nailed diagonally between 
the strips to strengthen the tower later¬ 
ally. Each strip was screwed to a stake 
in the ground so that by disconnecting 
two of them the other two could be 
used as hinges and the tower could be 
tipped over and lowered to the ground, 
as, for instance, when the windmill 
needed oiling. Bearings for the shaft 
G were placed 5 ft. apart in the tower. 
The power was put to various uses. 


How to Make a Telegraph Instrument and Buzzer 


The only expenditure necessary in 
constructing this telegraph instrument 
is the price of a dry cell, providing one 
has a few old materials on hand. 

Procure a block of wood about 6 in. 
long and 3 in. wide and take the coils 
out of an old electric bell. If you have 
no bell, one may be had at the dealers 
for a small sum. Fasten these coils on 
the blocks at one end as in Fig. 1. 

Cut a piece of tin 2 in. long and % in* 
wide and bend it so the end of the tin 


shown in the illustration. This com¬ 
pletes the receiver or sounder. 

To make the key, cut out another 
piece of tin (X, Fig. 1) 4 in. long and 
bend it as shown. Before tacking it 
to the board, cut off the head of a nail 
and drive it in the board at a point 
where the loose end of the tin will cover 
it. Then tack the key to the board and 
connect the wires of the battery as in 
Fig. 1. Now, move the coils back and 
forth until the click sounds just the way 




Fig 2 


when fastened to the block will come 
just above the core of the coil. Cut 
another piece of tin 3 in. long and bend 
it as shown at A, Fig. 2. Tack these 
two pieces of tin in front of the coils as 


you wish and you are ready to begin on 
the Morse code. 

When tired of this instrument, con¬ 
nect the wire from the coils to the key 
to point A and the one connected at 






















































335 


the point under the key to B, leaving 
the other wire as it is. By adjusting 
the coils the receiver will begin to 
vibrate rapidly, causing a buzzing 
sound.—Contributed by John R. Mc¬ 
Connell. 


How To Make a Water Bicycle 

Water bicycles afford fine sport, and, 
like many another device boys make, 
can be made of material often cast off 
by their people as rubbish. The prin¬ 
cipal material necessary for the con¬ 
struction of a water bicycle is oil bar¬ 
rels. Flour barrels will not do—they 
are not strong enough, nor can they be 
made perfectly airtight. The grocer 
can furnish you with oil barrels at a 
very small cost, probably let you have 
them for making a few deliveries for 
him. Three barrels are required for 
the water bicycle, although it can be 
made with but two. Figure 1 shows 
the method of arranging the barrels; 
after the manner of bicycle wheels. 

Procure an old bicycle frame and 
make for it a board platform about 3 
ft. wide at the rear end and tapering 
to about 2 ft. at the front, using cleats 
to hold the board frame, as shown at 


Water Bicycle Complete 

the shaded portion K. The construc¬ 
tion of the barrel part is shown in Fig. 
2. Bore holes in the center of the heads 
of the two rear barrels and also in the 
heads of the first barrel and put a shaft 
of wood through the rear barrels and 
one through the front barrel, adjusting 
the side pieces to the shafts, as indi¬ 
cated. 

Next place the platform of the bicy¬ 
cle frame and connections thereon. Go¬ 
ing back to Fig. 1 we see that the driv¬ 
ing chain passes from the sprocket 


driver L of the bicycle frame to the 
place downward between the slits in 
the platform to the driven sprocket on 
the shaft between the two barrels. 
Thus a center drive is made. The rear 
barrels are fitted with paddles as at M, 
consisting of four pieces of board nailed 



and cleated about the circumference of 
the barrels, as shown in Fig. 1. 

The new craft is now ready for a first 
voyage. To propel it, seat yourself on 
the bicycle seat, feet on the pedals, just 
as you would were you on a bicycle 
out in the street. The steering is ef¬ 
fected by simply bending the body to 
the right or left, which causes the craft 
to dip to the inclined side and the affair 
turns in the dipped direction. The 
speed is sl.ow at first, but increases as 
the force is generated and as one be¬ 
comes familiar with the working of the 
affair. There is no danger, as the air¬ 
tight barrels cannot possibly sink. 

Another mode of putting together 
the set of barrels, using one large one 
in the rear and a small one in the front 
is presented in Fig. 3. These two bar¬ 
rels are empty oil barrels like the 
others. The head holes are bored and 
the proper wooden shafts are inserted 
and the entrance to the bores closed 
tight by calking with hemp and putty 
or clay. The ends of the shafts turn 
in the wooden frame where the re¬ 
quired bores are made to receive the 
same. If the journals thus made are 
well oiled, there will not be much fric- 

















































336 


tion. Such a frame can be fitted with 
a platform and a raft to suit one’s in¬ 
dividual fancy built upon it, which can 



be paddled about with ease and safety 
on any pond. A sail can be rigged up 
by using a mast and some sheeting; or 
even a little houseboat, which will give 
any amount of pleasure, can be built. 



How To Make a Small Searchlight 

The materials required for a small 
searchlight are a 4-volt lamp of the 
loop variety, thin sheet brass for the 
cylinder, copper piping and brass tub¬ 
ing for base. When completed the 
searchlight may be fitted to a small 
boat and will afford a great amount of 
pleasure for a 
A A little work, or 

it may be put to 
other uses if de¬ 
sired. 

Make a cylin¬ 
der of wood of 
the required 
size and bend a sheet of thin brass 
around it. Shape small blocks of box¬ 
wood, D, Fig. 1, to fit the sides and 
pass stout pieces of brass wire through 
the middle of the blocks for trunnions. 
Exactly through the middle of the sides 
of the cylinder drill holes just so large 
that when the blocks containing the 
trunnions are cemented to the cylinder 
there is no chance of contact between 
cylinder and trunnion, and so creating 
a false circuit. 

The trunnion should project slightly 
into the cylinder, and after the lamp 
has been placed in position by means 
of the small wood blocks shown in Fig. 
1, the wires from the lamp should be 
soldered to the trunnions. It is best to 


solder the wire to the trunnions be¬ 
fore cementing the side blocks inside 
the cylinder. 

Turn a small circle of wood, A, Fig. 
2, inside the cylinder to fit exactly and 
fasten to it a piece of mirror, C, Fig. 2, 
exactly the same size to serve as a re¬ 
flector. Painting the wood with white 
enamel or a piece of brightly polished 
metal will serve the purpose. On the 
back of the piece of wood fasten a small 
brass handle, B, Fig. 2, so that it may 
readily be removed for cleaning. 

In front of cylinder place a piece of 
magnifying glass for a lens. If a piece 



to fit cannot be obtained, fit a glass 
like a linen tester to a small disc of 
wood or brass to fit the cylinder. If 
magnifying glass cannot be had, use 
plain glass and fit them as follows: 

Make two rings of brass wire to fit 
tightly into the cylinder, trace a circle 
(inside diameter of cylinder) on a piece 
of cardboard; place cardboard on glass 
and cut out glass with a glass cutter; 
break off odd corners with notches on 
cutters and grind the edge of the glass 
on an ordinary red brick using plenty 
of water. Place one brass ring in cyl¬ 
inder, then the glass disc and then the 
other ring. 

For the stand fill a piece of copper 
piping with melted rosin or lead. When 
hard bend the pipe around a piece of 
%vood which has been sawed to the 
shape of bend desired. Then melt out 
the rosin or lead. Make an incision 
with a half-round file in the under side 
of the tube for the wires to come 
through. Make the base of wood as 
shown in Fig. 1. One-half inch from 







































337 


the top bore a hole large enough to 
admit the copper pipe and a larger hole 
up the center to meet it for the wires 
to come down. 

If it is desired to make the light very 
complete, make the base of two pieces 
of brass tube—one being a sliding fit 
in the other and with projecting pieces 
to prevent the cylinder from going too 
far. The light may then be elevated 
or lowered as wished. On two ordi¬ 
nary brass terminals twist or solder 
some flexible wire, but before doing so 
fix a little bone washer on the screws 
of the terminal so as to insulate it from 
the tube. When the wires have been 
secured to the terminals cover the joint 
with a piece of very thin india rubber 
tubing, such as is used for cycle valves. 
The two wires may now be threaded 
down the copper tube into the base, 
and pulled tight, the terminals firmly 
fixed into the tubes; if too small, some 
glue will secure them. To get the cyl¬ 
inder into its carriage, put one trun¬ 
nion into the terminal as far as it will 
go and this will allow room for the 
other trunnion to go in its terminal. 


Electric Alarm that Rings a Bell and 
Turns on a Light 

The illustration shows an alarm clock 
connected up to ring an electric bell, 
and at the same time turn on an electric 
light to show the time. The parts in¬ 
dicated are as follows : A, key of alarm 
clock; B, contact post, 4 in. long; C, 
shelf, 5% by 10 in.; D, bracket; E, elec¬ 
tric bulb (3 V 2 volts) ; S, brass strip, 4% 
in. long, % in. wide and 1/16 in. thick; 
T, switch; F, wire from batteries to 
switch; G, wire from bell to switch; 
H, wire from light to switch; I, dry 
batteries; J, beil; X, point where a 
splice is made from the light to wire 
leading to batteries from brass strip 
under clock. Push the switch lever to 
the right before retiring. 

To operate this, set alarm key as 
shown in diagram, after two turns have 
been made on the key. When alarm 
goes off, it turns till it forms a con¬ 
nection by striking the contact post and 
starts the electric bell ringing. Throw 


lever off from the right to center, which 
stops bell ringing. To throw on light 
throw levers to the left. The bell is 
then cut out but the light remains on 
till lever is again thrown in the center. 



In placing clock on shelf, after set¬ 
ting alarm, be sure that the legs of 
clock are on the brass strip and that 
the alarm key is in position so it will 
come in contact with the contact post 
in back of clock. The contact post may 
be of %-in. copper tubing, or %-in. 
brass rod. 

The advantage of this is that one can 
control the bell and light, while lying 
in bed, by having the switch on the 
baseboard, near the bed, so it can be 
reached without getting out of bed.— 
Contributed by Geo. C. Brinkerhoff, 
Swissvale, Pa. 


How to Hold a Screw on a 
Screwdriver 

A screw that is taken from a place 
almost inaccessible with the fingers re¬ 
quires considerable patience to return 
it with an ordinary screwdriver unless 
some holding-on device is used. I have 
found that by putting a piece of card¬ 
board or thick paper with the blade of 
the screwdriver in the screw head slot, 
the screw may be held and turned into 
places that it would be impossible with 
the screwdriver alone.—Contributed by 
C. Chatland, Ogden, Utah. 






































338 


How to Make a Lead Cannon 

Any boy who has a little mechanical 
ability can make a very reliable cannon 
for his Fourth-of-July celebration by 
following the instructions given here: 



Lead Cannon Construction 


Take a stick—a piece of curtain 
roller will do—7 in. long. Make a 
shoulder, as at A, Fig. 1, 4 in. from 
one end, making it as true and smooth 
as possible, as this is to be the muzzle 
of the cannon. Make the spindle as in 
Fig. 1, in. in diameter. Procure a 
good quality of stiff paper, about 6 in. 
wide, and wrap it around the shoulder 
of the stick, letting it extend % in. 
beyond the end of the spindle, as at B, 
Fig. 2. Push an ordinary shingle nail 
through the paper and into the extreme 
end of the spindle, as at A, Fig. 2. This 
is to form the fuse hole. 

Having finished this, place stick and 


all in a pail of sand, being careful not 
to get the sand in it, and letting the 
opening at the top extend a little above 
the surface of the sand. Then fill the 
paper cylinder with melted lead and 
let cool. Pull out the nail and stick, 
scrape off the paper and the cannon is 
ready for mounting, as in Fig. 3.—Con¬ 
tributed by Chas. S. Chapman, Lanes- 
boro, Minn. 


Homemade Electric Bed Warmer 

The heat developed by a carbon-fil¬ 
ament lamp is sufficiently high to allow 
its use as a heating element of, for in¬ 
stance, a bed warmer. There are a 
number of other small heaters which 
can be easily made and for which 
lamps form very suitable heating ele¬ 
ments, but the bed warmer is probably 
the best example. All that is required 
is a tin covering, which can be made of 
an old can, about 3% in. in diameter. 
The top is cut out and the edge filed 
smooth. The lamp-socket end of the 
flexible cord is inserted in the can and 
the shade holder gripped over the 
opening. A small lamp of about 5 cp. 
will do the heating. 

A flannel bag, large enough to slip 
over the tin can and provided with *a 
neck that can be drawn together by 
means of a cord, gives the heater a 
more finished appearance, as well as 
making it more pleasant to the touch. 


Making a Fire with the Aid of Ice 

Take a piece of very clear ice and 
melt it down into the hollow of your 
hands so as to form a large lens. The 
illustration shows how this is done. 
With the lens-shaped ice used in the 
same manner as a reading glass to di- 



Forming the Ice Lens 

rect the sun’s rays on paper or shav¬ 
ings you can start a fire.—Contributed 
by Arthur E. Joerin. 

















339 


How to Make a Crossbow and Arrow Sling 

In the making of this crossbow it is opposite end, which should be slanting 
best to use maple for the stock, but if a little as shown by the dotted lines, 
this wood cannot be procured, good A spring, Fig. 2, is made from a good 
straight-grained pine will do. The piece of oak and fastened to the stock 



material must be 1% in. thick, 6 in. 
wide and a trifle over 3 ft. long. The 
bow is made from straight-grained oak, 
ash, or hickory, % in. thick, 1 in. wide 
and 3 ft. long. A piece of oak, % in. 
thick, 1 !/2 in. wide and 6 ft. long, will 
be sufficient to make the trigger, spring 
and arrows. A piece of tin, some nails 
and a good cord will complete the 
materials necessary to make the cross¬ 
bow. 

The piece of maple or pine selected 
for the stock must be planed and sand¬ 
papered on both sides, and then marked 
and cut as shown in Fig. 1. A groove 
is cut for the arrows in the top straight 
edge % in. wide and % in. deep. The 
tin is bent and fastened on the wood 
at the back end of the groove where 
the cord slips out of the notch; this is 
to keep the edges from splitting. 

A mortise is cut for the bow at a 
point 9% in. from the end of the stock, 
and one lor the trigger 12 in. from the 


with two screws. The trigger, Fig. 3, 
which is % in. thick, is inserted in the 
mortise in the position when pulled 
back, and adjusted so as to raise the 
spring to the proper height, and then 
a pin is put through both stock and 
trigger, having the latter swing quite 
freely. When the trigger is pulled, it 
lifts the spring up, which in turn lifts 
the cord off the tin notch. 

The stick for the bow, Fig. 4, is 
dressed down from a point % in. on 
each side of the center line to y 2 in. 
wide at each end. Notches are cut in 
the ends for the cord. The bow is not 
fastened in the stock, it is wrapped 
with a piece of canvas 1*4 in. wide on 
the center line to make a tight fit in 
the mortise. A stout cord is now tied 
in the notches cut in the ends of the 
bow making the cord taut when the 
wood is straight. 

The design of the arrows is shown 
in Fig. 5 and they are made with the 











































340 


blades much thinner than the round 
part. 

To shoot the crossbow, pull the cord 
back and down in the notch as shown 
in Fig. 6, place the arrow in the groove, 
sight and pull the trigger as in shoot¬ 
ing an ordinary gun. 

The arrow sling is made from a 
branch of ash about Y 2 i n - i n diameter, 
the bark removed and a notch cut in 
one end, as shown in Fig. 7. A stout 
cord about 2% ft. long is tied in the 
notch and a large knot made in the 
other or loose end. The arrows are 
practically the same as those used on 
the crossbow, with the exception of a 
small notch which is cut in them as 
shown in Fig. 8. 

To throw the arrow, insert the cord 
near the knot in the notch of the arrow, 
then grasping the stick with the right 
hand and holding the wing of the arrow 
with the left, as shown in Fig. 9, throw 
the arrow with a quick slinging motion. 
The arrow may be thrown several 
hundred feet after a little practice.— 
Contributed by O. E. Trownes, Wil¬ 
mette, Ill. 


A Home-Made Vise 

Cut two pieces of wood in the shape 
shown in the sketch and bore a %-in. 
hole through both of them for a com¬ 
mon carriage bolt. Fasten one of the 
pieces to the edge of the bench with 
a large wood screw and attach the 
other piece to the first one with a piece 
of leather nailed across the bottom of 
both pieces. The nut on the carriage 
bolt may be tightened with a wrench, 



Details of a Home-Made Bench Vise 


or, better still, a key filed out of a- piece 
of soft steel to fit the nut. The edges 
of the jaws are faced with sheet metal 
which can be copper or steel suitable 
for the work it is intended to hold. 


Temporary Dark Room Lantern 

Occasionally through some accident 
to the regular ruby lamp, or through 
the necessity of developing while out 
of reach of a properly equipped dark 
room, some makeshift of illumination 
must be improvised. Such a temporary 
safe light may be 
made from an 
empty cigar box 
in a short time. 

Remove the 
bottom of the 
box, and nail it 
in p o s i t i o n as 
shown at A. Re¬ 
in o v e one end, 
and replace as 
shown at B. 
Drive a short 
wire nail through the center of the op¬ 
posite end to serve as a seat for the 
candle, C. The lamp is finished by 
tacking two or more layers of yellow 
post-office paper over the aperture D, 
bringing the paper well around to the 
sides and bottom of the box to prevent 
light leakage from the cracks around 
the edges, says Photo Era. The hinged 
cover E, is used as a door, making 
lighting and trimming convenient. The 
door may be fastened with a nail or 
piece of wire. It is well to reinforce 
the hinge by gluing on a strip of cloth 
if the lamp is to be in use more than 
once or twice. This lamp is safe, for 
the projecting edges of A and B form 
light-shields for the ventilation orifice 
and the crack at the top of the hinged 
cover, respectively. Moreover, since 
the flame of the candle is above A, only 
reflected and transmitted light reaches 
the plate, while the danger of igniting 
the paper is reduced to a minimum. 


The paint will sag and run if too 
much oil is put in white lead. 

























































341 


Camps and How to Build Them 


There are several ways of building 
a temporary camp from material that 
is always to be found in the woods, and 
whether these improvised shelters are 
intended to last until a permanent 
camp is built, or only as a camp on a 
short excursion, a great deal of fun 
can be had in their construction. The 
Indian camp is the easiest to make. An 
evergreen tree with branches growing 
well down toward the ground fur¬ 
nishes all the material. By chopping 
the trunk almost through, so that when 
the tree falls the upper part will still 
remain attached to the stump, a serv¬ 
iceable shelter can be quickly provided. 
The cut should be about 5 ft. from 
the ground. Then the boughs and 
branches on the under side of the fallen 
top are chopped away and piled on top. 
There is room for several persons 
under this sort of shelter, which offers 
fairly good protection against any but 
the most drenching rains. 

The Indian wigwam sheds rain bet¬ 
ter, and where there are no suitable 
trees that can be cut, it is the easiest 
camp to make. Three long poles with 
the tops tied together and the lower 
ends spaced 8 or 10 ft. apart, make the 
frame of the wigwam. Branches and 
brush can easily be piled up, and 
woven in and out on these poles so as 
to shed a very heavy rain. 

The brush camp is shaped like an 
ordinary “A” tent. The ridge pole 
should be about 8 ft. long and sup¬ 
ported by crotched uprights about 6 
ft. from the ground. Often the ridge 
pole can be laid from one small tree 
to another. Avoid tall trees on account 
of lightning. Eight or ten long poles 
are then laid slanting against the ridge 
pole on each side. Cedar or hemlock 
boughs make the best thatch for the 
brush camp. They should be piled up 
to a thickness of a foot or more over 
the slanting poles and woven in and 
out to keep them from slipping. Then 
a number of poles should be laid over 
them to prevent them from blowing 
away. 

In woods where there is plenty of 


bark available in large slabs, the bark 
lean-to is a quickly constructed and 
serviceable camp. The ridge pole is 
set up like that of the brush camp. 
Three or four other poles are laid 
slanting to the ground on one side 
only. The ends of these poles should 
be pushed into the earth and fastened 
with crotched sticks. Long poles are 
then laid crossways of these slanting 
poles, and the whole can be covered 
with brush as in the case of the brush 
camp or with strips of bark laid over¬ 
lapping each other like shingles. 
Where bark is used, nails are neces¬ 
sary to hold it in place. Bark may 
also be used for a wigwam and it can 
be held in place by a cord wrapped 
tightly around the whole structure, 
running spiralwise from the ground to 
the peak. In the early summer, the 
bark can easily be removed from most 
trees by making two circular cuts 
around the trunk and joining them 
with another vertical cut. The bark is 
easily pried off with an ax, and if laid 
on the ground under heavy stones, 
will dry flat. Sheets of bark, 6 ft. long 
and 2 or 3 ft. wide, are a convenient 
size for camp construction. 

The small boughs and twigs of 
hemlock, spruce, and cedar, piled 2 or 
3 ft. deep and covered with blankets, 
make the best kind of a camp bed. 
For a permanent camp, a bunk can be 
made by laying small poles close to¬ 
gether across two larger poles on a 
rude framework easily constructed. 
Evergreen twigs or dried leaves are 
piled on this, and a blanket or a piece 
of canvas stretched across and fast¬ 
ened down to the poles at the sides. 
A bed like this is soft and springy and 
will last through an ordinary camping 
season without renewal. A portable 
cot that does not take up much room 
in the camp outfit is made of a piece 
of heavy canvas 40 in. wide and 6 ft. 
long. Four-inch hems are sewed in 
each side of the canvas, and when the 
camp is pitched, a 2-in. pole is run 
through each hem and the ends of the 
pole supported on crotched sticks. 


342 


































































































343 


Fresh water close at hand and 
shade for the middle of the day are 
two points that should always be 
looked for in selecting a site for a 
camp. If the camp is to be occupied 
for any length of time, useful imple¬ 
ments for many purposes can be made 
out of such material as the woods af¬ 
ford. The simplest way to build a 
crane for hanging kettles over the 
campfire is to drive two posts into the 
ground, each of them a foot or more 
from one end of the fire space, and 
split the tops with an ax, so that 
a pole laid from one to the other 
across the fire will be securely held in 
the split. Tongs are very useful in 
camp. A piece of elm or hickory, 3 
ft. long and 1% in. thick, makes a 
good pair of tongs. For a foot in the 
middle of the stick, cut half of the 
thickness away and hold this part 
over the fire until it can be bent easily 
to bring the two ends together, then 
fasten a crosspiece to hold the ends 
close together, shape the ends so that 
anything that drops into the fire can 
be seized by them, and a serviceable 
pair of tongs is the result. Any sort 
of a stick that is easily handled will 
serve as a poker. Hemlock twigs tied 
around one end of a stick make an 
excellent broom. Movable seats for a 
permanent camp are easily made by 
splitting a log, boring holes in the 
rounded side of the slab and driving 
pegs into them to serve as legs. A 
short slab or plank can easily be made 
into a three-legged stool in the same 
way. 

Campers usually have boxes in 
which their provisions have been car¬ 
ried. Such a packing box js easily 
made into a cupboard, and it is not 
difficult to improvise shelves, hinges, 
or even a rough lock for the camp 
larder. 

A good way to make a camp table 
is to set four posts into the ground 
and nail crosspieces to support slabs 
cut from chopped wood logs to form 
a top. Pieces can be nailed onto the 
legs of the table to hold other slabs to 
serve as seats, and affording accom¬ 
modation for several persons. 


Brooder for Small Chicks 

A very simple brooder can be con¬ 
structed by cutting a sugar barrel in 
half and using one part in the manner 



Brooder for Young Chicks Kept Warm with a 
Jug of Boiling Water 


described. Line the inside of the half 
barrel with paper and then cover this 
with old flannel cloth. Make a cover 
for the top and line it in the same man¬ 
ner. At the bottom cut a hole in the 
edge, about 4 in. deep and 4 in. wide, 
and provide a cover or door. The 
inside is kept warm by filling a jug 
with boiling water and setting it with¬ 
in, changing the water both morning 
and night. When the temperature 
outside is 10 deg. the interior can be 
kept at 90 or 100 deg., but the jug must 
be refilled with boiling water at least 
twice a day. 


Faucet Used as an Emergency Plug 

A brass faucet split as shown at A 
during a cold spell, and as no suitable 
plug to screw into the elbow after re¬ 
moving the faucet was at hand, I drove 
a small cork, B, into the end of the 
faucet and screwed it back in place. 
The cork converted the faucet into an 


A Tight-Fitting Cork Driven into a Cracked Faucet 
Converted It into an Emergency Plug 

emergency plug which prevented leak¬ 
age until the proper fitting to take its 
place could be secured.—Contributed 
by James M. Kane, Doylestown, Pa. 


















344 


Automatic Electric Heat Regulator 

It is composed of a closed glass tube, 
A, Fig. 1, connected by means of a 
very small lead pipe, B, to another 



glass tube, C, open at the bottom and 
having five pieces of platinum wire 
(1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), which project inside 
and outside of the tube, fused into one 
side. This tube is plunged into an 
ebonite vessel of somewhat larger 
diameter, which is fastened to the base 
by a copper screw, E. The tube C is 
filled to a certain height with mercury 
and then petroleum. The outer ends 
of the five platinum wires are soldered 
to ordinary copper wires and connec¬ 
tions made to various points on a 
rheostat as shown. The diagram, Fig. 
2, shows how the connections to the 
supply current are made. 

The apparatus operates as follows: 
The tube is immersed in the matter to 
be heated, a liquid, for instance. As 



Wiring Diagram Showing How the Connections to a 
Source of Current Supply are Made 


the temperature of this rises, the air 
expands and exerts pressure on the 
petroleum in the tube C so that the 
level of the mercury is lowered. The 
current is thus compelled, as the plati¬ 


num wires with the fall of the mercury 
are brought out of circuit, to pass 
through an increasing resistance, until, 
if necessary, the flow is entirely 
stopped when the mercury falls below 
the wire 5. 

With this very simple apparatus the 
temperature can be kept constant 
within a 10-deg. limit, and it can be 
made much more sensitive by increas¬ 
ing the number of platinum wires and 
placing them closer together, and by 
filling the tube A with some very 
volatile substance, such as ether, for 
instance. The petroleum above the 
mercury prevents sparking between 
the platinum wire and the mercury 
when the latter falls below any one 
of them. 


Repairing a Washer on a Flush Valve 

When the rubber washer on the cop¬ 
per flush valve of a soil-basin tank be¬ 
comes loose it can be 
set by pouring a 
small quantity of 
paraffin between the 
rubber and the cop¬ 
per while the valve 
is inverted, care be¬ 
ing taken to have 
the rubber ring cen¬ 
tered. This makes 
a repair that will not allow a drop of 
water to leak out of the tank.—Con¬ 
tributed by Frank Jermin, Alpena, 
Michigan. 


Cleaning Discolored Silver 

A very quick way to clean silver 
when it is not tarnished, but merely 
discolored, is to wash the articles in a 
weak solution of ammonia water. This 
removes the black stains caused by sul¬ 
phur in the air. After cleaning them 
with the solution, they should be 
washed and polished in magnesia pow¬ 
der or with a cloth. This method 
works well on silver spoons tarnished 
by eggs and can be used every day 
while other methods require much time 
and, therefore, cannot be used so often. 


/ PARAFFIN 









































































345 


How to Make a Small Electric Motor 

By W. A. ROBERTSON 


The field frame of the motor. Fig. 1, 
is composed of wrought sheet iron, 
which may be of any thickness so 
that, when several pieces are placed 
together, they will make a frame % in. 
thick. It is necessary to lay out a 
template of the frame as shown, mak¬ 
ing it yq in. larger than the dimensions 
given, to allow for filing to shape after 
the parts are fastened together. After 
the template is marked out, drill the 
four rivet holes, clamp the template, or 
pattern, to the sheet iron and mark 
carefully with a scriber. The bore can 
be marked with a pair of dividers, set 
at % in. This will mark a line for the 
center of the holes to be drilled with a 
14 -in. drill for removing the unneces¬ 
sary metal. The points formed by 
drilling the holes can be filed to the pat¬ 
tern size. Be sure to mark and cut out 
a sufficient number of plates to make 
a frame % in. thick, or even T V in. 
thicker, to allow for finishing. 

After the plates are cut out and the 
rivet holes drilled, assemble and rivet 
them solidly, then bore it out to a diam¬ 
eter of 2 3 /i in. on a lathe. If the thick¬ 
ness is sufficient, a slight finishing cut 
can be taken on the face. Before 
removing the field from the lathe, mark 
off a space, 3% in. in diameter, for the 
field core with a sharp-pointed tool, 
and for the outside of the frame, 4% 
in. in diameter, by turning the lathe 
with the hand. Then the field can be 
finished to these marks, which will 
make it uniform in size. When the 
frame is finished so far, two holes, 3% 
in. between centers, are drilled and 
tapped with a %-in. tap. These holes 
are for the bearing studs. Two holes 
are also drilled and tapped for %-in. 
screws, which fasten the holding-down 
lugs or feet to the frame. These lugs 
are made of a piece of %-in. brass or 
iron, bent at right angles as shown. 

The bearing studs are now made, as 
shown in Fig. 2, and turned into the 
threaded holes in the frame. The bear¬ 
ing supports are made of two pieces of 


%-in. brass, as shown in the left-hand 
sketch, Fig. 3, which are fitted on the 
studs in the frame. A %-in. hole is 




The Field-Coil Core is Built Up of Laminated Wrought 
Iron Riveted Together 

drilled in the center of each of these 
supports, into which a piece of %-in. 
brass rod is inserted, soldered into 
place, and drilled to receive the arma¬ 
ture shaft. These bearings should be 
fitted and soldered in place after the 
armature is constructed. The manner 
of doing this is to wrap a piece of paper 
on the outside of the finished armature 
ring and place it through the opening 
in the field, then slip the bearings on 
the ends of the shaft. If the holes in 
the bearing support should be out of 
line, file them out to make the proper 
adjustment. When the bearings are 
located, solder them to the supports, 
and build up the solder well. Remove 


|4*-f —Kf-'&H-i'i 

Fig.2 

The Bearing Studs are Turned from Machine Steel 
Two of Each Length being Required 

the paper from the armature ring and 
see that the armature revolves freely 
in the bearings without touching the 
inside of the field at any point. The 
supports are then removed and the 
solder turned up in a lathe, or other¬ 
wise finished. The shaft of the arma- 



























346 


ture, Fig. 4, is turned up from machine 
steel, leaving the finish of the bearings 
until the armature is completed and 
fastened to the shaft. 

The armature core is made up as fol- 



The Assembled Bearing Frame on the Field Core and 
the Armature Shaft Made of Machine Steel 


lows: Two pieces of wrought sheet 
iron, Yg in. thick, are cut out a little 
larger than called for by the dimen¬ 
sions given in Fig. 5, to allow for 
finishing to size. These are used for 
the outside plates and enough pieces of 
No. 24 gauge sheet iron to fill up the 
part between until the whole is over 
% in. thick are cut like the pattern. 
After the pieces are cut out, clamp 
them together and drill six %-in. holes 
through them for rivets. Rivet them 
together, and anneal the whole piece 
by placing it in a fire and heating the 
metal to a cherry red, then allowing it 
to cool in the ashes. When annealed, 
bore out the inside to in. in diam¬ 
eter and fit in a brass spider, which is 
made as follows: Procure a piece of 
brass, % in. thick, and turn it up to the 
size shown and file out the metal 
between the arms. Slip the spider on 
the armature shaft and secure it solidly 
with the setscrew so that the shaft will 
not turn in the spider when truing up 
the armature core. File grooves or 
slots in the armature ring so that it 
will fit on the arms of the spider. Be 
sure to have the inside of the armature 
core run true. When this is accom¬ 
plished, solder the arms of the spider 
to the metal of the armature core. The 
shaft with the core is then put in a 


lathe and the outside turned off to the 
proper size. The sides are also faced 
off and finished. Make the core % in. 
thick. Remove the core from the lathe 
and file out slots % in* deep and -fig 
in. wide. 

The commutator is turned from a 
piece of brass pipe, % in. inside diam¬ 
eter, as shown in Fig. 6. The piece is 
placed on a mandrel and turned to % 
in. in length and both ends chamfered 
to an angle of 60 deg. Divide the sur¬ 
face into 12 equal parts, or segments. 
Find the centers of each segment at one 
end, then drill a %-in. hole and tap it 
for a pin. The pins are made of brass, 
threaded, turned into place and the 
ends turned in a lathe to an out c ide 
diameter of 1^4 in- Make a slit with a 
small saw blade in the end of each pin 
for the ends of the wires coming from 
the commutator coils. Saw the ring 
into the 12 parts on the lines between 
the pins. 

The two insulating ends for holding 
these segments are made of fiber 
turned to fit the bore of the brass 
tubing, as shown in Fig. 7. Procure 12 
strips of mica, the same thickness as 
the width of the saw cut made between 
the segments, and use them as a filler 
and insulation between the commuta- 



Fig.6 Fig.7 

Armature-Ring Core, Its Hub and the Construction 
of the Commutator and Its Insulation 


tor bars. Place them on the fiber hub 
and slip the hub on the shaft, then 
clamp the whole in place with the nut, 
as shown in Fig. 3. True up the com¬ 
mutator in a lathe to the size given in 
Fig. 6. 

The brush holder is shaped from a 




























































347 


piece of fiber, as shown in Fig. 8. The 
studs for holding the brushes are cut 
from tV* 11 - brass rod, as shown in Fig. 
9. The brushes consist of brass or cop¬ 
per wire gauze, rolled up and flattened 
out to % in. thick and *4 in. wide, one 
end being soldered to keep the wires in 
place. The holder is slipped on the 
projecting outside end of the bearing, 
as shown in Fig. 3, and held with a set¬ 
screw. 

The field core is insulated before 
winding with 1/64-in. sheet fiber, wash¬ 
ers, lVs in. by 1% in., being formed for 
the ends, with a hole cut in them to 
fit over the insulation placed on the 
cores. A slit is cut through from the 
hole to the outside, and then they are 
soaked in warm water, until they 
become flexible enough to be put in 
place. After they have dried, they are 
glued to the core insulation. 

The field is wound with No. 18 gauge 
double-cotton-covered magnet wire, 
about 100 ft. being required. Drill a 
small hole through each of the lower- 
end insulating washers. In starting to 
wind, insert the end of the wire 
through the hole from the inside, at A, 
Fig. 1, and wind on four layers, which 
will take 50 ft. of the wire, and bring 
the end of the wire out at B. After 
one coil, or side, is wound start at C 
in the same manner as at A, using the 
same number of turns and the same 
length of wire. The two ends are 
joined at B. 

The armature ring is insulated by 
covering the inside and brass spider 
with iVin* sheet fiber. Two rings of 
•/g-in. sheet fiber are cut and glued to 
the sides of the ring. When the glue is 
set, cut out the part within the slot 
ends and make 12 channel pieces from 
1/64-in. sheet fiber, which are glued 
in the slots and to the fiber washers. 
Be sure to have the ring and spider 
covered so the wire will not touch the 
iron or brass. 

Each slot of the armature is wound 
with about 12 ft. of No. 21 gauge 
double-cotton-covered magnet wire. 
The winding is started at A, Fig. 5, by 
bending the end around one of the pro¬ 
jections, then wind the coil in one of 


the slots as shown, making 40 turns, or 
four layers of 10 turns each, shellack¬ 
ing each layer as it is wound. After 
the coil is completed in one slot, allow 
about 2 in. of the end to protrude, to 


r—i* 

-*| 

Lj/ g \ 

< 

N/ir viz 

*o3» 

=§ 37-4 



!ht!o| li 0^1 

|°rii 

1—3" 

— 1 


b3 


oo,r 6 BRASS SCREW 

i/ ol 


BRUSHES 
Fig.9 


Fig.8 

The Insulated Brush Holder and Its Studs for Holding 
the Brushes on the Commutator 


fasten to the commutator segment. 
Wind the next slot with the same num¬ 
ber of turns in the same manner, and so 
on, until the 12 slots are filled. The 
protruding ends of the coils are con¬ 
nected to the pins in the commutator 
segments after the starting end of one 
coil is joined to the finishing end of the 
next adjacent. All connections should 
be securely soldered. 

The whole motor is fastened with 
screws to a wood base, 8 in. long, 6 
in. wide and 1 in. thick. Two terminals 
are fastened at one side on the base, 
and a switch at the other side. 

To connect the wires, after the motor 
is on the stand, the two ends of the 
wire, shown at B, Fig. 1, are soldered 
together. Run one end of the field 
wire, shown at A, through a small hole 
in the base and make a groove on the 
under side so that the wire end can be 
connected to one of the terminals. 
The other end of the field wire C is 
connected to the brass screw in the 
brass brush stud. Connect a wire from 
the other brush stud, run it through 
a small hole in the base and cut a 
groove for it on the under side so that 
it can be connected through the switch 
and the other terminal. This winding 
is for a series motor. The source of 
current is connected to the terminals. 
The motor can be run on a 110-volt 
direct current, but a resistance must 
be placed in series with it. 


CNew tinware rubbed over with fresh 
lard and heated will never rust. 






















348 


Another Optical Illusion 

After taking a look at the accompany¬ 
ing illustration you will be positive that 
the cords shown run in a spiral toward 
the center, yet it shows a series of per- 



The Cord Is Not a Spiral 


feet circles of cords placed one inside 
the other. You can test this for your¬ 
self in a moment with a pair of com¬ 
passes, or, still more simply, by laying 
a point of a pencil on any part of the 
cord and following it round. Instead 
of approaching or receding from the 
center in a continuous line, as in the 
case of a spiral, you Will find the pencil 
returning to the point from which it 
started. 


Substitute for Insulating Cleats 

In wiring up door bells, alarms and 
telephones, as well as experimental 
work the use of 
common felt gun 
wads make a very 
good cleat for the 
wires. They are 
used in the manner illustrated in the 
accompanying sketch. The insulated 
wire is placed between two wads and 
fastened with two nails or screws. If 
one wad on the back is not thick 
enough to keep the wire away from the 
support, put on two wads behind and 
one in front of the wire and fasten in 
the same manner as described. 


Electrically Operated Indicator for a 
Wind Vane 

The accompanying photograph shows 
a wind vane connected with electric 
wires to an instrument at considerable 
distance which indicates by means 
of a magnetic needle the direction of 
the wind. The bearings of the vane 
consist of the head of a wornout 
bicycle. A J^-in. iron pipe extends 
from the vane and is held in place by 
the clamp originally used to secure the 
handle bar of the bicycle. In place of 
the forks is attached an eight-cylinder 
gas engine timer which is slightly 
altered in such a manner that the brush 
is at all times in contact, and when 
pointing between two contacts con¬ 
nects them both. Nine wires run from 
the timer, one from each of the eight 
contacts, and one, which serves as the 
ground wire, is fastened to the metallic 
body. The timer is set at such a posi¬ 
tion that when the vane points directly 
north, the brush of the timer makes a 
connection in the middle of a contact. 
When the timer is held in this position 
the brush will make connections with 
each of the contacts as the vane re¬ 
volves. 

The indicating device which is placed 
in a convenient place in the house con¬ 
sists of eight 4-ohm magnets fastened 
upon a 1-in. board. These magnets are 
placed in a 10-in. circle, 45 deg. apart 
and with their faces pointing toward 
the center. Covering these is a thin, 
wood board upon which is fastened a 
neatly drawn dial resembling a mari¬ 
ner’s compass card. This is placed over 
the magnets in such a manner that 
there will be a magnet under each of 
the eight principal points marked on 
the dial. Over this dial is a magnetic 
needle or pointer, 6 in. long, perfectly 
balanced on the end of a standard and 
above all is placed a cover having a 
glass top. The eight wires from the 
timer contacts connect with the out¬ 
side wires of the eight magnets sepa¬ 
rately and the inside wires from the 
magnets connect with the metal brace 
which holds the magnets in place. A 
wire is then connected from the metal 
















349 


brace to a push button, 
two or three cells of 
dry battery and to the 
ground wire in connec¬ 
tion with the timer. 
The wires are con¬ 
nected in such a man¬ 
ner that when the vane 
is pointing in a certain 
direction the battery 
will be connected in 
series with the coil 
under that part of the 
dial representing the 
direction in which the 
vane is pointing, thus 
magnetizing the core 
of the magnet which 
attracts the opposite 
pole of the needle to¬ 
ward the face of the 
magnet and indicating 
the way the wind is 
blowing. The pointer 
end of the needle is 
painted black. 

If the vane points in 
such a direction that 
the timer brush con¬ 
nects two contacts, two 
magnets will be mag¬ 
netized and the needle 
will point midway be¬ 
tween the two lines 
represented on the dial, 
thus giving 16 differ¬ 
ent directions. Around 
the pointer end of the 
needle is wound a fine 
copper wire, one end of 
which extends down to 
about 3*2 i n * of the dial. 
This wire holds the 
needle in place when 
the pointer end is di¬ 
rectly over the magnet 
attracting it; the mag¬ 
net causing the needle 
to “dip” will bring the 
wire in contact with 
the paper dial. With¬ 
out this attachment, 
the needle would swing 
a few seconds before 
coming to a standstill. 



The Wind Vane, Magnets and Indicator 







350 


The vane itself is easily constructed 
as can be seen in the illustration. It 
should be about 6 ft. long to give the 
best results. The magnets used can 
be purchased from any electrical store 
in pairs which are called “instrument 
magnets.” Any automobile garage can 
supply the timer and an old valueless 
bicycle frame is not hard to find. The 
cover is easily made from a picture 
frame with four small boards arranged 
to take the place of the picture as 
shown. 

The outfit is valuable to a person 
who is situated where a vane could 
not be placed so as to be seen from a 
window and especially at night when 
it is hard to determine the direction of 
the wind. By simply pressing the 
push button on the side of the cover, 
the needle will instantly point to the 
part of the dial from which the wind 
is blowing.—Contributed by James L. 
Blackmer, Buffalo, N. Y. 


A Home-Made Floor Polisher 

An inexpensive floor polisher can be 
made as follows:' Secure a wooden 
box with a base 8 by 12 in. and 
about 6 in. high, also a piece of new 
carpet, 14 by 18 in. Cut 3-in. squares 
out of the four corners of the carpet 
and place the box squarely on it. Turn 
three of the flaps of the carpet up and 
tack them securely to the sides of the 
box. Before tacking the fourth side, 


fold a couple of newspapers to the 
right size and shove them in between 
the carpet and the bottom of the box 
for a cushion. Fill the box with any 
handy ballast, making it heavy or 
light, according to who is going to use 
it, and securely nail on the top of the 
box. The handle can be made from an 
old broom handle the whole of which 
will be none too long. Drive a heavy 
screweye into the big end of the handle 
and fasten to the polisher by a staple 
driven through the eye into the center 
of the cover, thus making a universal 
joint. The size of the box given here 
is the best although any size near that, 
if not too high, will answer the pur¬ 
pose just as well. The box is pushed 
or pulled over the floor and the padded 
side will produce a fine polish. 


How to Make a Lady’s Card-Case 

A card-case such as is shown here 
makes a very appropriate present for 
any lady. To make it, secure a piece 
of “ooze” calf skin leather 4% by 10% 
in. The one shown in the accompany¬ 
ing picture was made of a rich tan ooze 
of light weight arid was lined with a 
grey-green goat skin. The design was 
stenciled and the open parts backed 
with a green silk plush having a rather 
heavy nap. The lining of goat skin 
need not cover more than the central 
part—not the flies. A piece 4% by 5 



Design for the Cover of Lady’s Card-Case 


























































351 


in. will be sufficient. A piece of plush 
114 by 6 in. will be enough for the two 
sides. 

Begin work by shaping the larger 
piece of leather as shown in the draw¬ 
ing. Allow a little margin at the top 
and bottom, however, to permit trim¬ 
ming the edges slightly after the parts 
have been sewed together. A knife or 
a pair of scissors will do to cut the 
leather with, though a special knife, 
called a chip carving knife, is most sat¬ 
isfactory. 

The next thing is to put in the marks 
for the outline of the designs and the 
borders. A tool having a point shaped 
as in the illustration is commonly used. 
It is called a modeling tool for leather 
and may be purchased, or, one can be 
made from an ordinary nut pick by 
taking off the sharpness with fine 
emery paper so that it will not cut the 
leather. To work these outlines, first 
moisten the leather on the back with 
as much water as it will take and still 
not show through on the face side. 
Place the leather on some level, non¬ 
absorbent surface and with the tool— 
and a straightedge on the straight 
lines—indent the leather as shown. 
The easiest way is to place the paper 
pattern on the leather and mark on the 
paper. The indentations will be trans¬ 
ferred without the necessity of putting 
any lines on the leather. 

With the knife cut out the stencils 
as shown. Paste the silk plush to the 
inner side, being careful not to get any 
of the paste so far out that it will show. 
A good leather paste will be required. 



Leather Tools 


Next place the lining, fold the flies 
along the lines indicated in the draw¬ 
ing. Hold the parts together and 
stitch them on a sewing-machine. An 


ordinary sewing-machine will do if a 
good stout needle is used. A silk thread 
that will match the leather should be 
used. Keep the ooze side of the lining 



Complete Card-Case 


out so that it will show, rather than the 
smooth side. With the knife and 
straightedge trim off the surplus ma¬ 
terial at the top and bottom and the 
book is ready for use. 


Home-Made Fire Extinguisher 

Dissolve 20 lb. of common salt and 
10 lb. of sal ammoniac in 7 gal. of 
water, and put the solution in thin 
glass bottles, cork tightly and seal to 
prevent evaporation. The bottles 
should hold about 1 qt. If a fire breaks 
out, throw one of the bottles in or 
near the flames, or break off the neck 
and scatter the contents on the fire. 
It may be necessary to use several bot¬ 
tles to quench the flames. 
























































352 


Crutch Made of an Old Broom 

An emergency crutch made of a 
worn-out broom is an excellent substi¬ 
tute for a wood crutch, especially 
when one or 
more crutches 
are needed for 
a short time, 
as in cases of a 
sprained ankle, 
temporary 
lameness, or a 
hip that has 
been wrenched. 

Shorten and 
hollow out the 
brush of the 
broom and then 
pad the hollow part with cotton bat¬ 
ting, covering it with a piece of cloth 
sewed in place. Such a crutch does 
not heat the arm pit and there is an 
elasticity about it not to be had in the 
wooden crutch. The crutch can be 
made to fit either child or adult, and, 
owing to its cheapness, can be thrown 
away when no longer needed.—Con¬ 
tributed by Katharine D. Morse, Syra¬ 
cuse, N. Y. 


Toy Darts and Parachutes 

A dart (Fig. 1) is made of a cork 
having a tin cap, a needle and some 
feathers. The needle is run through 
the center of the cork A and a pin or 
piece of steel is put through the eye of 
the needle. Take a quantity of small 



feathers, B, and tie them together se¬ 
curely at the bottom. Bore a hole in 
the center of the cap C, and fasten the 


feathers inside of it. Fasten the cap on 
the cork and the dart is ready for use. 
When throwing the dart at a target 
stand from 6 to 10 ft. away from it. 

The parachute is made by cutting a 
piece of paper 15 in. square and tying a 
piece of string to each corner. The 
strings should be about 15 in. long. Tie 
all four strings together in a knot at 
the end and fasten them in the top of a 
cork with a small tack. It is best to be 
as high as possible when flying the 
parachute as the air currents will sail it 
high and fast. Take hold of the para¬ 
chute by the cork and run it through 
the air with the wind, letting it go at 
arm’s length.—Contributed by J. Gor¬ 
don Dempsey, Paterson, N. J. 


A Tool for Lifting Can Covers 


A handy tool for prying up varnish, 
paint, syrup and similar can covers can 
be made from an old fork filed down 



Made of an Old Fork 


to the shape shown in the illustration. 
The end is filed to an edge, but not 
sharp.—Contributed by Ben Grebin, 
Ashland, Wis. 


Keeping Rats from a Chicken Coop 

After trying for months to keep the 
rats from tunneling their way into my 
chicken coop by filling in the holes, lay¬ 
ing poisoned meat and meal, setting 
traps, etc., I devised a simple and ef¬ 
fective method to prevent them from 
doing harm. 

My roosting coop is 5 by 15 ft. There 
is a 1-in. board all around the bottom on 
the inside. I used wire mesh having 
%-in. openings and formed it into the 
shape of a large tray with edges 6 in. 
high, the corners being wired, and 
tacked it to the boards. This not only 
keeps the rats out, but prevents the 
chickens from digging holes, thus help¬ 
ing the rats to enter.—Contributed by 
John A. Hellwig, Albany, N. Y. 













353 


Homemade Telephone Receiver 

The receiver illustrated herewith is 
to be used in connection with the 
transmitter described elsewhere in this 
volume. The body of the receiver, A, 
is made of a 
large wooden 
ribbon spool. 
One end is re¬ 
moved entirely, 
the other sawed 
in two on the 
line C and a 
flange, F, is cut 
on the wood, % 
in. wide and W 
in. deep. A 
flange of the 
same size is 
made on the end 
D that was 
sawed off, and 
the outside part 
tapered toward 
the hole as 
shown. The 
magnet is made of a 30-penny nail, 
B, cut to the length of the spool, and 
a coil of wire, E, wound on the head 
end. The coil is 1 in. long, made up 
of four layers of No. 22 gauge copper 
magnet wire, allowing the ends to ex¬ 
tend out about 6 in. The nail with 
the coil is then put into the hole of the 
spool as shown. The diaphragm C, 
which is the essential part of the in¬ 
strument, should be made as carefully 
as possible from ferrotype tin, com¬ 
monly called tintype tin. The dia¬ 
phragm is placed between the flanges 
on the spool and the end D that was 
sawed off. The end piece and dia¬ 
phragm are both fastened to the spool 
with two or three slender wood screws, 
as shown. 

A small wooden or fiber end, G, is 
fitted with two binding posts which 
are connected to the ends of the wire 
left projecting from the magnet wind¬ 
ing. The binding posts are attached to 
the line and a trial given. The proper 
distance must be found between the 
diaphragm and the head of the nail. 
This can be accomplished by moving 


the nail and magnet in the hole of the 
spool. When the distance to produce 
the right sound is found, the nail and 
magnet can be made fast by filling the 
open space with melted sealing wax. 
The end G is now fastened to the end 
of the spool, and the receiver is ready 
for use. 


How to Clean Jewelry 

To cleanse articles of silver, gold, 
bronze and brass use a saturated solu¬ 
tion of cyanide of potassium. To clean 
small articles, dip each one into the 
solution and rinse immediately in hot 
water; then dry and polish with a linen 
cloth. Larger articles are cleaned by 
rubbing the surface with a small tuft 
of cotton saturated in the solution. As 
cyanide of potassium is a deadly 
poison, care must be taken not to have 
it touch any sore spot on the flesh. 


Ornamental Iron Flower Stand 

The illustration shows an orna¬ 
mental iron stand constructed to hold 
a glass or china vase. This stand can 
be made by first drawing an outline of 
the vase on a heavy piece of paper. 
The vase is to have three supports. 
The shape of the scrolls forming each 
support should be drawn on the paper 


The Stand with Vase 

around the shape of the vase. A single 
line will be sufficient, but care must 
be taken to get the shapes of the scrolls 
true. Take a piece of string or, better 
still, a piece of small wire, and pass it 
around the scroll shape on the paper. 




















































354 


This will give the exact length of the 
iron required to make the scroll. As 
sheet metal is used for making the 
scrolls, it can be cut in the right 
lengths with a pair of tinner’s shears. 
Take a pair of round-nose pliers, begin 
with the smallest scrolls, and bend 
each strip in shape, using the flat-nose 
pliers when necessary to keep the iron 


straight, placing it on the sketch from 
time to time to see that the scrolls are 
kept to the shape required. The scrolls 
are riveted and bolted together. The 
supports are fastened together with 
rings of strip iron % in. wide, to which 
the supports are fastened with rivets. 
The metal can be covered with any de¬ 
sired color of enamel paint. 


How to Make a Coin Purse 


The dimensions for a leather coin 
purse are as follows: from A to B, as 
shown in the sketch, 6% in.; from C 
to D, 4% in.; from E to F, 3% in- and 


A 



from G to H, 3^4 in. Russian calf 
modeling leather is the material used. 
A shade of brown is best as it does not 
soil easily, and does not require color¬ 
ing. 

Cut out the leather to the size of the 
pattern, then moisten the surface on 
the rough side with a sponge soaked in 
water. Be careful not to moisten the 
leather too much or the water will go 
through to the smooth side. Have the 


design drawn or traced on the pattern. 
Then lay the pattern on the smooth 
side of the leather and trace over the 
design with the small end of the 
leather tool or a hard, sharp pencil. 
Trace also the line around the purse. 
Dampen the leather as often as is 
necessary to keep it properly mois¬ 
tened. 

After taking off the pattern, retrace 
the design directly on the leather to 
make it more distinct, using a duller 
point of the tool. Press or model 
down the leather all around the de¬ 
sign, making it as smooth as possible 
with the round side of the tool. Work 
down the outside line of the design, 
thus raising it. 

Fold the leather on the line EF. Cut 
another piece of leather the size of the 
side ECBD of the purse, and after put¬ 
ting the wrong sides of the leather to¬ 
gether, stitch around the edge as 
designated by the letters above men¬ 
tioned. Do not make this piece come 
quite up to the line EF, so that the 
coins may be more easily put in and 
taken out. About 1 in. from the lines 
EF on the piece, stitch in a strip of 
leather about *4 in. wide when stitch¬ 
ing up the purse, through which to slip 
the fly AGH. 


A window glass may be kept from 
frosting by rubbing over the inner sur¬ 
face a solution of 55 parts of glycerine 
and 1,000 parts of 60 per cent alcohol. 
The odor may be improved by adding 
a little oil of amber. This solution will 
also prevent a glass from sweating in 
warm weather. 












355 


How to Make a Turbine Engine 


In the following article is described 
a machine which anyone can make, 
and which will be very interesting, as 
well as useful. It can be made without 
the use of a lathe, or other tools usu¬ 
ally out of reach of the amateur me¬ 
chanic. It is neat and efficient, and a 
model for speed and power. Babbitt 
metal is the material used in its con¬ 
struction, being cast in wooden molds. 
The casing for the wheel is cast in 
halves—a fact which must be kept in 
mind. 



Fig 2 


pieces 12 in. square, and, with a com¬ 
pass saw, cut out one piece as shown 
in Fig. 1, following the dotted lines, 
leaving the lug a, and the projections 
B and b to be cut out with a pocket 
knife. Make the lug % i n - deep, and 
the projections B, b, % in* deep. The 
entire cut should be slightly beveled. 

Now take another piece of wood, and 
cut out a wheel, as shown in Fig. 2. 
This also should be slightly beveled. 
When it is finished, place it on one of 
the square pieces of wood, with the 
largest side down, then place the square 
piece out of which Fig. 1 was cut, 
around the wheel, with the open side 
down. (We shall call that side of a 
mold out of which a casting is drawn, 
the “open” side.) Place it so that it 


is even at the edge with the under 
square piece and place the wheel so 
that the space between the wheel and 



the other piece of wood is an even % 
in. all the way around. Then nail the 
wheel down firmly, and tack the other 
piece slightly. 

Procure a thin board % in* thick, and 
cut it out as shown in Fig. 3; then nail 
it, with pins or small nails, on the 
center of one of the square pieces of 
wood. Fit this to the two pieces just 
finished, with the thin wheel down— 
but first boring a %-in. hole % in. deep, 
in the center of it; and boring a %-in. 



hole entirely through at the same place. 
Now put mold No. 1 (for that is what 
we shall call this mold) in a vise, and 
bore six %-in. holes through it. Be 
























356 


careful to keep these holes well out in 
the solid part, as shown by the black 
dots in Fig. 1. Take the mold apart, 
and clean all the shavings out of it; 



then bolt it together, and lay it away 
to dry. 

Now take another of the 12-in. square 
pieces of wood, and cut it out as shown 
in Fig. 4, slightly beveled. After it is 
finished, place it between two of the 
12-in. square pieces of wood, one of 
which should have a %-in. hole bored 
through its center. Then bolt together 
with six ^-in. bolts, as shown by the 



black dots in Fig. 4, and lay it away to 
dry. This is mold No. 2. 

Now take mold No. 1; see that the 
bolts are all tight; lay it on a level 
place, and pour babbitt metal into it, 
until it is full. Let it stand for half 


an hour, then loosen the bolts and re¬ 
move the casting. 

Now cut out one of the 12-in.-square 
pieces of wood as shown in Fig. 5. This 
is the same as Fig. 1, only the one is 
left-handed, the other right-handed. 
Put this together in mold No. 1, in¬ 
stead of the right-handed piece; and 
run in babbitt metal again. The cast¬ 
ing thus made will face together with 
the casting previously made. 

Pour metal into mold No. 2. This 
will cast a paddle-wheel, which is in¬ 
tended to turn inside of the casting al¬ 
ready made. 

If there should happen to be any 



holes or spots, where the casting did 
not fill out, fill them by placing a small 
piece of wood with a hole in it, over 
the defective part, and pouring metal 
in to fill it up. 

If you cannot obtain the use of a 
drill press, take an ordinary brace, 
fasten a %-in. drill in it, and bore a 
hole through the end of a strip about 
2 in. wide and 16 in. long; put the top 
of the brace through this hole, and 
fasten the other end of the strip to a 
bench, as shown in illustration. Find 
the center of the paddle-wheel, place it 
under the drill, true it up with a square ; 
and drill it entirely through. Find the 
centers of the insides of the other two 
castings, and drill them in the same 
manner. 

A piece of mild steel 5 in. long, and 
%. in. in diameter must now be ob¬ 
tained. This is for a shaft. Commenc- 


























357 


ing 1% in. from the one end, file the 
shaft off flat for a distance of 1 in. 
Then cut a slot in the paddle-wheel, 
and place the shaft inside of the paddle- 
wheel, with the flat part of the shaft 
turned to face the slot in the wheel. 
Pour metal into the slot to key the 
wheel on to the shaft. 

The paddle-wheel is now ready to 
be fitted inside of the casing. It may 
be necessary to file some of the ends 
off the paddles, in order to let the pad¬ 
dle-wheel go into the casing. After 
it is fitted in, so that it will turn easily, 
place the entire machine in a vise, and 
bore three %-in. holes, one in the lug, 
one in the projections, B, b, and the 
other in the base, as shown by the black 
dots in Fig. 6. Also bore the port-hole 
in projection B, and the exhaust hole 
in projection b, and two -^-in. holes at 
d, d, Fig. 6. Cut out a piece of gasket 
and fit it between the two castings. 
Then bolt the castings together, screw 
down, and connect to the boiler. 



The reader must either cast a pulley 
out of babbitt metal, or else go to a 
machinist and get a collar turned, with 
a boss and a set screw, and with three 
small screw holes around the edge. Cut 
out a small wood wheel and screw the 
collar fast to it, fasten it to the shaft 
of the turbine and turn on the steam. 
Then take a knife or a chisel, and, while 
it is running at full speed, turn the 
wheel to the shape desired. 

Your turbine engine is now ready for 
work, and if instructions have been 
carefully followed, will do good service. 


When painting the automobile body 
and chassis be sure to stuff the oil holes 
with felt or waste before applying the 
paint. If this caution is not observed 
the holes will become clogged with 
paint which will prevent any oil reach¬ 
ing the bearing. 


How To Build An Ice Boat 


The ice boat is each year becoming 
more popular. Any one with even 
small experience in using tools can con¬ 



struct such a craft, and the pleasure 
many times repays the effort. 

Take two pieces of wood 2 by 6 in., 
one 6 ft. and the other 8 ft. long. At 
each end of the 6-ft. piece and at right 
angles to it, bolt a piece of hardwood 
2 by 4 by 12 in. Round off the lower 
edge of each piece to fit an old_ skate. 
Have a blacksmith bore holes through 
the top of the skates and screw one of 
them to each of the pieces of hardwood. 



These skates must be exactly parallel 
or there will be trouble the first time 
the craft is used. 

Over the middle of the 6-ft. piece and 
















358 


at right angles to it, bolt the 8-ft. plank, 
leaving 1 ft. projecting as in Fig. 1. 

The rudder skate is fastened to a 
piece of hardwood 2 by 2 by 12 in. as 
the runners were fastened. This piece 
should be mortised 3 by 3 by 4 in. in 
the top before the skate is put on. 
Figure 2 shows the rudder post. 

A piece of hardwood 1 by 6 by 6 in. 



Details of Ice 


should be screwed to the under side of 
the 8-ft. plank at the end with the grain 
running crosswise. Through this bore 
a hole 1% in. in diameter in order that 
the rudder post may fit nicely. The 
tiller, Fig. 3, should be of hardwood, 
and about 8 in. long. 

To the under side of the 8-ft. plank 
bolt a piece of timber 2 by 4 by 22 in. 
in front of the rudder block, and to this 
cross piece and the 6-ft. plank nail 8-in. 
boards to make the platform. 

The spar should be 9 ft. long and 2% 
in. in diameter at the base, tapering to 
1 y 2 in. at the top. This fits in the 
square hole, Fig. 1. The horn should 
be 5 y 2 ft. long, 2 by 3 in. at the butt 
and 1 in. at the" end. 

Figure 4 gives the shape and dimen¬ 
sions of the mainsail which can be made 
of muslin. Run the seam on a ma¬ 
chine, put a stout cord in the hem and 
make loops at the corners. 


Figure 6 shows the way of rigging 
the gaff to the spar. Figure 7 shows 
the method of crotching the main boom 
and Fig. 8 a reef point knot, which may 
come in handy in heavy winds. 

Make your runners as long as possi¬ 
ble, and if a blacksmith will make an 
iron or steel runner for you, so much 
the better will be your boat. 



Boat Construction 


Electric Rat Exterminator 

Some time ago we were troubled by 
numerous large rats around the shop, 
particularly in a storehouse about 100 
ft. distant, where they often did con¬ 
siderable damage. One of the boys 
thought he would try a plan of electri¬ 
cal extermination, and in order to carry 
out his plan he picked up an old zinc 
floor plate that had been used under a 
stove and mounted a wooden disk 6 in. 
in diameter in the center. On this disk 
he placed a small tin pan about 6 in. in 
diameter, being careful that none of the 
fastening nails made an electrical con¬ 
nection between the zinc plate and the 
tin pan. 

This apparatus was placed on the 
floor of the warehouse where it was 
plainly visible from a window in the 
shop where we worked and a wire was 
run from the pan and another from the 






























359 


zinc plate through the intervening yard 
and into the shop. A good sized induc¬ 
tion coil was through connected with 
these wires and about six dry batteries 
were used to run the induction coil 
whenever a push button was manipu¬ 
lated. 

It is quite evident that when a rat 
put its two fore feet on the edge of the 
pan in order to eat the mush which it 
contained, that an electrical connection 
would be made through the body of 



2 or 3 ft. in the air and let out a terrific 
squeak. The arrangement proved quite 
too effective, for after a week the rats 
all departed and the boys all regretted 
that their fun was at an end.—Con¬ 
tributed by John D. Adams, Phoenix, 
Ariz. _ 

How to Make a Simple Fire Alarm, 

A fire alarm which is both inexpen¬ 
sive and simple in construction is 
shown in the illustration. Its parts 
are as follows: 

A, small piece of wood; B, block of 
wood nailed to A; S S, two pieces of 
sheet brass about % in. wide, bent into 
a hook at each end; P, P, binding-posts 
fastening the springs S S, to block B, 
so that they come in contact at C. W 
is a piece of wax crayon just long 
enough to break the contact at C when 
inserted as shown in the illustration. 


When these parts have been put to¬ 
gether in the manner described, con¬ 
nect the device in circuit with an elec¬ 
tric bell, and place it behind a stove. 



When the stove becomes too hot the 
wax will melt at the ends, allowing the 
springs to contact at C, and the alarm 
bell will ring.—Contributed by J. R. 
Comstock, Mechanicsburg, Pa. 


To Build a Merry-Go-Round 

This is a very simple device, but one 
that will afford any amount of amuse¬ 
ment. The center post rests in an 
auger hole bored in an old stump or in 
a post set in the ground. The stump 
makes the best support. The center 
pole should be 10 ft. high. An old 
wheel is mounted at the top of the pole, 
and the pole works in the wheel as an 
axle, says the American Boy. The 
wheel is anchored out by several guy 



wires. The seat arms may be any 
length desired. A passenger rides in 
each seat and the motorman takes his 
station at the middle. 


Emery wheel arbors should be fitted 
with flanges or washers having a slight 
concave to their face. 































360 


Novelty Clock for the Kitchen 

An inexpensive and easy way to 
make an unique ornament of a clock 



for kitchen use is to take an old alarm 
clock or a new one if preferred, and 
make it into a clock to hang on the 
wall. Take the glass, dial and works 
out of the shell and cut some pieces out 
of the metal so that when the pieces 
left are turned back it will have the 
appearance as in Fig. 1. Then get a 
10-cent frying pan, 6 in. in diameter, 
and drill a hole in the center so the 
shaft for the hands will easily pass 
through and extend out far enough to 
replace the two hands. Put the works 
back in the metal shell and solder it 
to the frying pan by the pieces turned 
out as in Fig. 2. Gild the pan all over, 
including the handle, and print black 
figures in the small circles. Calendar 
figures can be pasted on small circles 
and these pasted on the frying pan. 
The parts can be divided into minutes 
with small lines the same as shown 
in the drawing. Make new hands that 
are long enough to reach the figures 
from sheet brass or tin and paint them 
black.—Contributed by Carl P. Herd, 
Davenport, Iowa. 


How to Make a Small Silver Plating 
Outfit 

Take an ordinary glass fruit jar or 
any other receptacle in glass, not 
metal, which will hold 1 qt. of liquid 
and fill it with rain or distilled water 
and then add % oz. of silver chloride 
and 1% oz. of c - P- potassium cyanide. 
Let this dissolve and incorporate well 
with the water before using. Take an 
ordinary wet battery and fasten two 
copper wires to the terminals and 
fasten the other ends of the wires to 
two pieces of heavy copper wire or %- 
in. brass pipe. The wires must be well 
soldered to the brass pipe to make a 
good connection. When the solution 
is made up and entirely dissolved the 
outfit is ready for plating. 

Procure a small piece of silver, a sil¬ 
ver button, ring, chain or anything 
made entirely of silver and fasten a 
small copper wire to it and hang on the 
brass pipe with connections to the car¬ 
bon of the battery. Clean the article 
to be plated well with pumice and a 
brush saturated in water. When clean¬ 
ing any article there should be a cop¬ 
per wire attached to it. Do not touch 
the article after you once start to clean 
it, or the places touched by your fin¬ 
gers will cause the silver plate to peel 
off when finished. When well scoured, 
run clear, cold water over the article 
and if it appears greasy, place in hot 
water. When well cleaned place in the 
plating bath and carefully watch the 
results. If small bubbles come to the 
surface you will know that you have 
too much of the anode or the piece of 
silver hanging in the solution and you 



must draw out enough of the piece un¬ 
til you can see no more bubbles. Leave 
the piece to be plated in the solution 






























361 


for about one-half hour, then take the 
article out and with a tooth brush and 
some pumice, clean the yellowish scum 
off, rinse in clear water and dry in saw¬ 
dust. When thoroughly dry, take a 
cotton flannel rag and some polishing 
powder and polish the article. The ar¬ 
ticle must have a fine polish before 
plating if it is desired to have a finely 
polished surface after the plate is put 
on. 

In order to see if your battery is 
working, take a small copper wire and 
touch one end to the anode pipe and 
the other end to the pipe holding the 
article to be plated. When these two 
parts touch there will be a small spark. 
Always take the zincs out of the solu¬ 
tion when not in use and the batteries 
will last longer. This description ap¬ 
plies only to silver plating. Articles of 
lead, pewter, tin or any soft metal can¬ 
not be silver plated unless the article is 
first copper plated. 


Removing a Tight-Fitting Ring from a 
Finger 

When a ring cannot be removed eas¬ 
ily from the finger, take a string or 
thread and draw one end through be¬ 
tween the ring and the flesh. Coil the 
other end of the string around the 
finger covering the part from the ring 
to and over the finger joint. Uncoil 
the string by taking the end placed 
through the ring and at the same time 
keep the ring close up to the string. 
In this way the ring can be easily slip- 



Wrapping the Finger 


ped over the knuckle and off from the 
fmger .—Contributed by J. K. Miller, 
Marietta, Penn. 


A Photographic Jig-Saw Puzzle 

Take any photographic print and 
mount it on heavy cardboard, or, if you 



Picture Marked for Cutting 


have a jig saw, a thin smooth wood 
board and mark out various shaped 
pieces as shown in the accompanying 
cut. If the picture is mounted on card¬ 
board, the lines can be cut through 
with a sharp pointed knife. If you 
have a jig saw, you can make a bro¬ 
mide enlargement from the negative 
you have selected and mount the print 
on a smooth board that is not too thick. 
This wood-mounted picture can be 
sawed out making all shapes of blocks, 
which forms a perfect jig-saw puzzle. 
—Contributed by Erich Lehmann, 
New York City. 


Rolling Uphill Illusion 

This interesting as well as entertain¬ 
ing illusion, can be made by anyone 
having a wood-turning lathe. A solid, 
similar to two cones placed base to 
base, is accurately turned in a lathe, 
the sides sloping to an angle of 45 deg. 
The spindle can be turned out of the 
solid at the same time as the cone; or, 
after turning the cone, drive an iron or 
wood shaft through the center making 
a tight fit. 

The boards for the track are made 
with a sloping edge on which the cone 
is to roll. This slope will depend on 
the diameter of the cone, which can be 








362 


any size from 3 to 12 in. The slope 
should not be too flat, or the cone will 
not roll, and it should be such that the 



The Illusion 


one end will be higher than the other 
by a little less than half the diameter 
of the cone. Thus it will be seen that 
the diameter of the cone determines the 
length of the slope of the tracks. A 
notch should be cut in the tracks, as 
indicated, for the shaft to drop into at 
the end of the course. 

The lower end of the tracks are 
closed until the high edge of the cone 
rests upon the inside edges of the tracks 
and the high end spread sufficiently to 
take the full width of the cone and to 
allow the shaft to fall into the notches. 
When the cone and tracks are viewed 
from the broadside the deception will 
be more perfect, and will not be dis¬ 
covered until the construction of the 
model is seen from all sides. Should 
it be difficult to make the cone from 
wood, a good substitute can be made 
from two funnels.—Contributed by I. 
G. Bayley, Cape May Point, N. J. 


Annealing Chisel Steel 

Persons who have occasion to use 
tool or carbon steel now and then and 
do not have access to an assorted stock 
of this material find that the kind most 
readily obtained at the hardware store 
is the unannealed steel known as chisel 
steel. Machining or filing such steel 
is exceedingly slow and difficult, be¬ 
sides the destruction of tools; as a 
matter of fact this steel is intended for 


chisels, drills, and like tools which re¬ 
quire only forging and filing. If this 
steel is annealed, it can be worked as 
easily as the more expensive annealed 
steel. 

Annealing may be done by heating 
the steel to a cherry red, not any more, 
and burying it in a box of slaked lime, 
where it is allowed to remain until all 
the heat is gone. If well done, the 
metal will be comparatively soft and 
in a condition to machine .easily and 
rapidly. In lieu of lime, bury in ashes, 
sand, loam, or any substance not in¬ 
flammable, but fine enough to closely 
surround the steel and exclude the air 
so that the steel cools very slowly. 

If possible, keep the. steel red hot 
in the fire several hours, the longer the 
better. In certain processes, like that 
of file manufacturing, the steel blanks 
are kept hot for 48 hours or more. 
Where it is impossible to wait so long 
as the foregoing method takes, then a 
cold water anneal may be used with 
less time. This method consists of 
heating the work as slowly and thor¬ 
oughly as the time will permit, then 



The above photograph was made by first 
printing a maple leaf on the paper, not too 
dark, then printing on top the picture from the 
negative, and finished in the usual way. 






363 


removing the steel from the fire and al¬ 
lowing it to cool in the air until black 
and then quenching in water. 

In addition to softening the steel, 
annealing benefits the metal by reliev¬ 
ing strains in the piece. Should a par¬ 
ticularly accurate job be called for, the 
steel should be annealed again after 
the roughing cuts have been taken and 
before machining to the final size. 
This will insure a true job and dimin¬ 
ishes the danger of spring in the final 
hardening.—Contributed by Donald A. 
Hampson, Middletown, N. Y. 


How to Make a Post Card Holder 

This holder is designed to lay flat 
on the counter or to stack one on top 
of the other, keeping each variety of 
cards separate, or a number of them 
can be fastened on any upright surface 
to display either horizontal or vertical 
cards. 

The holders can be made from sheet 
tin, zinc, brass or aluminum. The 
dimensions for the right size are given 
in Fig. 1; the dotted line , showing 
where the bends are made. The com¬ 



pleted holder is shown in Fig. 2 as 
fastened to a wall.—Contributed by 
John F. Williamson, Daytona, Fla. 


Do not allow paint that is left over 
from a job to stand uncovered. The 
can should be tightly sealed and the 
paint will be found suitable for use for 
several days. 


Perfume-Making Outfit 

The real perfume from the flowers 
is not always contained in the liquid 
purchased for 
perfume. The 
most expensive 
perfume can be 
made at home 
for less than 10 
cents an ounce. 

The outfit neces¬ 
sary is a large 
bottle or glass 
jar with a small¬ 
er bottle to fit 
snugly into the 
open mouth of 
the large one. 

Secure a small 
piece of very fine 
sponge and wash 
it clean to thor¬ 
oughly remove 
all grit and sand. 

Saturate the sponge with pure olive 
oil, do not use strong oil, and place it 
inside of the smaller bottle. 

Fill the large bottle or jar with 
flowers, such as roses, carnations, 
pansies, honeysuckles or any flower 
having a strong and sweet odor. Place 
the small bottle containing the sponge 
upside down in the large one, as shown 
in the illustration. 

The bottle is now placed in the sun 
and kept there for a day and then the 
flowers are removed and fresh ones 
put in. Change the flowers each day 
as long as they bloom. Remove the 
sponge and squeeze out the oil. For 
each drop of oil add 2 oz. of grain al¬ 
cohol. If stronger perfume is desired 
add only 1 oz. alcohol to each drop of 
oil. 


Home-Made Duplicator for Box 
Cameras 

The projecting tube of the lens on 
a hand camera can be easily fitted 
with a duplicator while the box camera 
with its lens set on the inside and 
nothing but a hole in the box does not 
have such advantages. A small piece 
of heavy cardboard can be made to 































364 


produce the same results on a box 
camera as a first-class duplicator ap¬ 
plied to a hand camera. The card- 


Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 

Duplicator Attached to a Camera 

board is cut triangular and attached 
to the front end of the camera as shown 
in Fig. 1 with a pin about 1 in. above 
the lens opening. A rubber band 
placed around the lower end of the 
cardboard and camera holds the former 
at any position it is placed. A slight 
pressure of the finger on the point A, 
Fig. 2, will push the cardboard over 
and expose one-half of the plate and 
the same pressure at B, Fig. 3, will re¬ 
verse the operation and expose the 
other one-half. Pins can be stuck in 
the end of the camera on each side of 
the lens opening at the right place to 
stop the cardboard for the exposure. 
With this device one can duplicate the 
picture of a person on the same nega¬ 
tive.—Contributed by Maurice Bau- 
dier, New Orleans, La. 


Optical Illusions 

The accompanying sketch shows 
two optical illusions, the first having 
a perfect circle on the outside edge ap- 



The Two Illusions 


pears to be flattened at the points A, 
and the arcs of the circle, B, appear to 
be more rounding. In the second fig¬ 


ure the circle appears to have an oval 
form with the distance from C to C 
greater than from D to D. A compass 
applied to the circles in either figures 
will show that they are perfectly 
round.—Contributed by Norman S. 
Brown, Chippewa Falls, Wis. 


Use of Kerosene in Polishing Metals 

Anyone who has polished a flat iron 
or steel surface with emery cloth knows 
how soon the cloth gums and fills up. 
The cloth in this condition will do little 
or no cutting. A simple remedy for 
this trouble is to use kerosene on the 
surface. The oil floats away a large 
part of the gumming substance and 
leaves the emery cloth sharp and clean 
to do the best work, also, it seems to 
act as a lubricant to keep particles of 
metal from collecting on the cloth and 
scratching or digging in the surface of 
the metal. A very light lard oil is 
equally good for this purpose, but not 
always easily obtained. A surface 
polished where oil or kerosene is used 
does not rust so easily as one polished 
dr}q for the reason that a little oil re¬ 
mains on the metal. 

Kerosene is the best to use on oil 
stones, being better than heavier oil. 
This oil readily floats away all particles 
of the feather edge that are liable to 
become loosened and forced into the 
stone. These particles of metal when 
stuck to the stone are the cause of 
spoiling it, as well as nicking the tools 
that are being sharpened. Keep the 
surface of the stone well oiled at all. 
times to make the cutting free.—Con¬ 
tributed by Donald A. Hampson, Mid¬ 
dletown, N. Y. 


How to Make Lamps Burn Brightly 

For a good, steady light there is 
nothing better than a lamp, but like 
most everything it must have attention. 
After cleaning well and fitting it, place 
a small lump of camphor in the oil 
vessel. This will greatly improve the 
light and make the flame clearer and 
brighter. If there is no camphor at 
hand add a few drops of vinegar oc¬ 
casionally. 

















365 


A Practical Camera for Fifty Cents 


By C. H. Claudy 


I say for fifty cents, but really this is 
an outside estimate. If you possess a 
few tools and the rudiments of a shop, 
by which is meant a few odds and ends 
of screws, brass and nails, you can 
really make this camera for nothing. 

The camera box is the first considera¬ 
tion, and for this a cigar box answers 
every purpose. It is better to use one 
of the long boxes which contain a hun¬ 
dred cigars and which have square 
ends. This box should be cut down, 
by means of a saw and a plate, until 
the ends are 4 in. square. Leave the 
lid hinged as it is when it comes. Clean 
all the paper from the outside and in¬ 


is advised, the box should measure that 
size in its internal dimensions. 

We now come to the construction 
of the most essential part of the camera 
—the pin hole and the shutter, which 
take the place of the lens and shutter 
used in more expensive outfits. This 
construction is illustrated in Fig. 4. 
Take a piece of brass, about 1/16 in. 
thick and 1% in. square. Bore a hole 
in each corner, to take a small screw, 
which will fasten it to the front of the 
camera. With %-in. drill bore nearly 
through the plate in the center, but be 
careful that the point of the drill does 
not come through. This will produce 



Construction of Camera Box 


side of the box—which may be readily 
done with a piece of glass for a scraper 
and a damp cloth—and paint the in¬ 
terior of the box a dead black, either 
with carriage makers’ black or black 
ink. 

Now bore in the center of one end a 
small hole, % in. or less in diameter. 
Finally insert on the inside of the box, 
on the sides, two small strips of wood, 
% by % in. and fasten them with glue, 
y 8 in. from the other end of the box. 
Examine Fig. 1, and see the location 
of these strips, which are lettered EE. 
Their purpose is to hold the plate, 
which may be any size desired up to 
4 in. square. Commercially, plates 
come 31/2 by 3V 2 in., or, in the lantern 
slide plate, 3% by 4 in. If it is desired 
to use the 3% by 3% in. plates, which 


the recess shown in the first section in 
Fig. 4. Now take a No. 10 needle, in¬ 
sert the eye end in a piece of wood and 
very carefully and gently twirl it in the 
center of the brass where it is the thin¬ 
nest, until it goes through. This pin 
hole, as it is called, is what produces 
the image on the sensitive plate, in a 
manner which I shall presently de¬ 
scribe. The shutter consists of a little 
swinging piece of brass completely 
covering the recess and pin hole, and 
provided with a little knob at its lower 
end. See Fig. 3, in which'F is the front 
of the camera, B the brass plate and 
C the shutter. This is also illustrated 
in the second cross section in Fig. 4. 
In the latter I have depicted it as swung 
from a pivot in the brass, and in Fig. 3 
as hung from a screw in the wood of 

















366 


the front board; either construction of your vision when confined within 
will be effective. little frame. 



When you want to use this camera, 
take it into an absolutely dark room 



Lastly, it is necessary to provide a 
finder for this camera in order to know 
what picture 
you are taking. 

M a k e a little 
frame of wire, 
the size of the 
plate you are 
using, and 
mount it up¬ 
right (see Fig. 

5) on top of the camera as close to the 
end where the pin hole is as you can. 
At the other end, in the center, erect 
a little pole of wire half the height # of 
the plate. If now you look along the 
top of this little pole, through the wire 
frame and see that the top of the little 
pole appears in the center of the frame, 
everything that you see beyond will be 



Pin Hole and Shutter Construction 

taken on the plate, as will be made plain 
by looking at the dotted lines in Fig. 
5, which represents the outer limits 


and insert a plate (which you can buy 
at any supply store for photographers) 
in the end where the slides of wood 
are, and between them and the back of 
the box. Close the lid and secure it 
with a couple of rubber bands. See 
that the little shutter covers the hole. 
Now take the camera to where you wish 
to take a photograph, and rest it se¬ 
curely on some solid surface. The ex¬ 
posure will be, in bright sunlight and 
supposing that your camera is 10 in. 
long, about six to eight seconds. This 
exposure is made by lifting the little 
brass shutter until the hole is un¬ 
covered, keeping it up the required 
time, and then letting it drop back into 
place. It is important that the camera 
be held rigid during the exposure, and 
that it does not move and is not jarred 
—otherwise the picture will be blurred. 
Remove the plate in the dark room and 
pack it carefully in a pasteboard box 
and several wrappings of paper to pro¬ 
tect it absolutely from the light. It is 
now ready to be carried to some one 


































367 


who knows how to do developing and 
printing. 

To explain the action of the pin hole 
I would direct attention to Fig. 2. Here 
F represents the front of the camera, 
D the pin hole, AA the plate and the 
letters RR, rays from a lighted candle. 
These rays of course, radiate in all di¬ 
rections, an infinite multitude of them. 
Similar rays radiate from every point 
of the object, from light reflected from 
these points. Certain of these rays 
strike the pin hole in the front of the 
camera, represented here by RRRR. 
These rays pass through the pin hole, 
and as light travels only in straight 
lines, reach the plate AA, forming an 
inverted image of the object, in this 
case a candle in a candlestick. Mil¬ 
lions of rays are given off by every 
point in every object which is lighted 
by either direct or reflected light. To 
all practical purposes only one of these 
rays from each point in an object can 
pass through a minute opening like a 
pin hole. This being so, any screen 
which interrupts these selected rays of 
light will show upon it a picture of the 
object, only inverted. If that screen 
happens to be a photographically sen¬ 
sitive plate, which is protected from all 
other light by being in a dark box, upon 
it will be imprinted a photographic 
image which can be made visible by 
the application of certain chemicals, 
when it becomes a negative, from 
which may be printed positives. This 
camera is not a theoretical possibility, 
but an actual fact. I have made and 
used one successfully, as a demonstra¬ 
tion of pin-hole photography. 


Use for an Old Clock 

Remove the hair spring of the clock, 
and fasten a spring to one end of the 
pawl and a small wire to the other end. 
Make a slit in the case of the clock 
opposite the pawl. Fasten the spring 
on the outside in any convenient way 
and pass the wire through the slit to 
an eccentric or other oscillating body. 

To make the dial, paste a piece of 
paper over the old dial, pull the wire 
back and forth one hundred times, and 


make a mark where the minute hand 
stops. Using this for a unit divide up 
the whole dial. The hour hand has an 
inner circle of its own. Put the alarm 
hand at a little before twelve and wind 
the alarm. When the alarm is un¬ 



wound the hour hand starts on a new 
trip. The clock I used was put on an 
amateur windmill and when the hour 
hand went around once 86,400 revolu¬ 
tions or jerks on the wire were made, 
while the minute hand recorded one- 
twelfth of this number, or 7,200.—Con¬ 
tributed by Richard H. Ranger, Indian¬ 
apolis, Ind. 


Renewing Dry Batteries 

Dry batteries, if not too far gone, 
can be renewed by simply boring a 
small hole through the composition on 
top of each carbon and pouring some 
strong salt water or sal ammoniac solu- 
ti®n into the holes. This kink is sent 
us by a reader who says that the pro¬ 
cess will make the battery nearly as 
good as new if it is not too far gone 
beforehand. 


If a round brush spreads too much, 
slip a rubber band over the upper part 
of the bristles. 


















368 


How to Make a Simple Burglar Alarm 

Take a piece of any wood about 6 by 
8 in. for the base. This may be fin¬ 
ished in any way desired. For the con¬ 
tact points use brass or any sheet metal 



door or window and any movement of 
it will pull it to the contact point on 
the right. If the string is cut or broken 
the spring will pull the lever to the con¬ 
tact point on the left and thus complete 
the circuit. If the string is burned it 
will also act as a fire alarm. 


How to Fit Corks 

Occasionally odd-sized bottles are re¬ 
ceived in stores which require corks 
cut to fit them. No matter how sharp 
a knife may be, it will leave some sharp 
edges after cutting the cork, which will 
cause leakage. The illustration shows 
three very effective methods of reduc¬ 
ing the size of corks. The one shown 
in Fig. 1 is made from two pieces of 
%-in. wood fastened together at one 
end with a common hinge. Two or 
three grooves are cut cross-wise in sizes 
desired. The cork is put into the 
groove and both pieces are pressed to¬ 
gether, which will make the cork 
smaller. 

Rolling the cork between two flat 


Simple Burglar Alarm 

which will be satisfactory. Take a 
piece about 2^4 or 3 in. in length and 
bend the ends up about in. in a ver¬ 
tical position as shown. Fasten this to 
the top of the board using screws or 
nails. Under this strip of metal fasten 
a copper wire which can be connected 
to a binding-post on the board if de¬ 
sired. Take another piece of metal 
about 4^2 in. in length and make a 
lever of it in the shape shown in the 
diagram. Fasten this so that one end 
of it will swing freely, but not loosely 
between the ends of the other piece 
marked C-C. Near the end fasten a 
spiral spring, S, which can be obtained 
almost anywhere. Fasten the end of 
this to the screw marked X. Also 
fasten to this screw a copper wire lead¬ 
ing to the binding-post. In the lower 
end of the lever make a small hole to 
fasten a string through. 

This string may be fastened across a 



Three Methods for Reducing Size of Corks 

surfaces (Fig. 2) is simple and almost 
as good as pressing in the grooves. A 
cork rolled on the floor (Fig. 3) is a 
quick and effective way. A slower and 
equally as good way is to soak the cork 
in hot water for a short time.—Con¬ 
tributed by L. Szerlip, Brooklyn, N. Y. 


Standing at the cylinder end and 
looking toward the flywheel of an en¬ 
gine, the wheel will be at the right if 
the engine is right-hand. 



































369 


Home-Made Crutch 


While a fractured bone was healing- 
in the limb of my boy he needed a pair 
of crutches and not being able to se¬ 
cure the right length, I set about to 
make the crutches from two broom 
handles. I split the handles to within 
1 ft. of the end (Fig. 1) with a rip saw, 
and then stuck them in a barrel of 
water for three days to make the wood 
pliable for bending. A grip for each 
stick was made as long as the hand is 
wide and a hole bored through the cen¬ 
ter the size of a No. 10 gauge wire. 
These grips were placed between the 
two halves of each stick at the right 
distance for the length of the boy’s arm 
and a wire run through both split 



pieces and the handle then riveted as 
shown in Fig. 2. Another piece was 
cut as shown at A, Fig. 3, and nailed to 
the upper ends of each half of the 
broom handle.—Contributed by Geo. 
P. Grehore, Nashville, Tenn. 


Home-Made Necktie Holder 

The gas bracket is considered a good 
place to hang neckties, even if it does 
crowd them together. The illustration 
shows a better method, a curtain rod 
attached to one end of a bureau. Two 
long-shanked, square-hooked screws 
should be used, so they may be screwed 


beneath and close up to the projecting 
top. When removed they will leave no 



Hanger for Ties 


disfiguring holes.—Contributed by C, 
W. Neiman, New York City. 


How to Make a Trousers Hanger 

Secure from your tinsmith a piece of 
sheet metal 7 in. wide and 12 in. long. 
Cut the metal as shown in Fig. 1 and 
make a close bend at the point A, but 
not too close to cause it to break. The 
piece will then appear as shown in Fig. 
2 . Cut a piece from the waste mate¬ 
rial % in. wide and 2% in. long and 
bend it around the two pieces B, Fig. 
2 , so it will slide freely on their length. 
Bend the edges C in for y 8 in. to hold 
the trousers firmly. Drill a hole 
through the top end of B and attach 
a wire formed into a hook for use in 
hanging on a nail. The bottom end of 
the trousers is inserted between the 
jaws C and the small ferrule pushed 



Contributed by A. Levinson, Saginaw, 
Michigan. 





















































370 


Easy Designs in Ornamental Iron Work 


Many an industrious lad has made 
money manufacturing the common 
forms of wood brackets, shelves, boxes, 
stands, etc., but the day of the scroll 




saw and the cigar-box wood bracket 
and picture frame has given way to the 
more advanced and more profitable 
work of metal construction. Metal 
brackets, stands for lamps, gates, parts 
of artistic fences for gardens, support¬ 
ing arms*for signs, etc., are among the 
articles of modern times that come un¬ 
der the head of things possible to con¬ 
struct of iron in the back room or attic 
shop. The accompanying sketches pre¬ 
sent some of the articles possible to 
manufacture. 

First, it is essential that a light room 
be available, or a portion of the cellar 
where there is light, or a workshop 
may be built in the yard. Buy a mod¬ 


erate sized anvil, a vise and a few other 
tools, including bell hammer, and this 
is all required for cold bending. If you 
go into a forge for hot bending, other 
devices will be needed. Figure 1 shows 
how to make the square bend, getting 
the shoulder even. The strip metal is 
secured at the hardware store or the 
iron works. Often the strips can be 
secured at low cost from junk dealers. 
Metal strips about % in. wide and % 
in. thick are preferable. The letter A 
indicates a square section of iron, 
though an anvil would do, or the base 
of a section of railroad iron. The bend 
is worked on the corner as at B, cold. 
If a rounded bend is desired, the same 
process is applied on the circular piece 
of iron or the horn of an anvil. This is 
shown in Fig. 2, at C. This piece of 
iron can be purchased at any junk 
store, where various pieces are always 
strewn about. A piece about 20 in. 
long and 4 in. in diameter is about the 
right size. The bend in the metal be¬ 
gins at D and is made according to the 
requirements. Occasionally where 
sharp bends or abrupt corners are need¬ 
ed, the metal is heated previous to 
bending. 

Although the worker may produce 
various forms of strip-metal work, the 
bracket is, as a rule, the most profitable 
to handle. The plain bracket is shown 
in Fig. 3, and is made by bending the 
strip at the proper angle on form A, 
after which the brace is adjusted by 
means of rivets. A rivet hole boring 
tool will be needed. A small metal 
turning or drilling lathe can be pur¬ 
chased for a few dollars and operated 
by hand for the boring, or a common 
hand drill can be used. Sometimes the 
bracket is improved in design by add¬ 
ing a few curves to the end pieces of 
the brace, making the effect as shown 
in Fig. 4. After these brackets are 
made they are coated with asphaltum 
or Japan ; or the brackets may be paint¬ 
ed or stained any desired shade. 

In some of the work required, it is 
necessary to shape a complete loop or 
circle at the end of the piece. This may 























371 


be wrought out as in Fig. 5. The use 
of a bar of iron or steel is as shown. 
The bar is usually about 2 in. in diam¬ 
eter and several feet in length, so that 
it will rest firmly on a base of wood or 
stone. Then the bending is effected as 
at F, about the bar E, by repeated 
blows with the hammer. After a little 
practice, it is possible to describe al¬ 
most any kind of a circle with the tools. 
The bar can be bought at an iron deal¬ 
ers for about 40 cents. From the junk 
pile of junk shop one may get a like 
bar for a few cents. 

A convenient form for shaping strip- 
metal into pieces required for brackets, 
fences, gates, arches, and general trim¬ 
mings is illustrated at Fig. 6. First 
there ought to be a base block, G, of 
hard wood, say about 2 ft. square. With 
a round point or gouging chisel work 
out the groove to the size of the bar, 
forming a seat, by sinking the bar, H, 
one-half its depth into the wood as 
shown. In order to retain the bar se¬ 
curely in position in the groove, there 
should be two caps fitted over it and 
set-screwed to the wooden base. These 
caps may be found in junk dealers' 
heaps, having been cast off from 2-in. 
shaft boxes. Or if caps are not avail¬ 
able, the caps can be constructed from 
sheet metal by bending to the form of 
the bar, allowing side portions or lips 
for boring, so that the caps can be set- 
screwed to the wood. Thus we get a 
tool which can be used on the bench 
for the purpose of effecting series of 
bends in strips of metal. 

Since the introduction of the laws re¬ 
quiring that signs of certain size and 
projection be removed from public 
thoroughfares in cities, there has been 
quite a call for short sign brackets, so 
termed, of the order exhibited in Fig. 
7. These sign-supporting brackets do 
not extend more than 3 ft. out from 
the building. A boy can take orders 
for these signs in almost any city or 
large town with a little canvassing. The 
sign supporting bracket shown is mere¬ 
ly a suggestion. Other designs may be 
wrought out in endless variety. A hook 
or eye is needed to sustain the ring in 
the sign. 


The young man who undertakes to 
construct any sort of bracket, supports, 
frames or the like, will find that he will 
get many orders for lamp-supporting 
contrivances, such as shown at Fig. 8. 
It is hardly necessary to go into details 




for making these stands, as every part 
is bent as described in connection with 
the bending forms, and the portions are 
simply riveted at the different junc¬ 
tures. Both iron and copper rivets are 
used as at I, in Fig. 9, a cross sectional 
view. 

The best way is to bore straight 
through both pieces and insert the 
rivet. In some cases the rivet is head¬ 
ed up in the bore and again washers 
are used and the heading effected on 
the washer. Copper rivets are soft and 
easily handled, but are costly as com¬ 
pared with iron rivets. 

Good prices are obtained for the 
guards for open fireplaces made in 
many varieties in these days. The re- 
































372 


turn of the open fireplace in modern 
houses has created a demand for these 
guards and in Fig. 10 we show a design 
for one of them. The posts are made 



sufficiently stiff by uniting two sides 
with rivets. The ends at top are looped 
as shown, while the ends or butts at 
the base are opened out to make the 
feet. Rings are shaped on forms and 
are then riveted to the base cross-piece 
as illustrated. Crosses are made to de¬ 
scribe to central design and the plan 
is worked out quite readily with the 
different shapes. 

The making of metal fire grate fronts 
has proven to be a very interesting and 
profitable occupation for boys in recent 


times. Not long ago it was sufficient 
for the ingenious youth to turn out 
juvenile windmills, toy houses and var¬ 
ious little knickknacks for amusement. 
The modern lad wants more than this. 
He desires to turn some of his product 
into cash. Therefore we present some 
of the patterns of fire grates which boys 
have made and can make again from 
scrap iron, with few tools and devices, 
and find a ready market for the same 
as soon as they are made. Figure 11 
is a sketch of a form of fire grate bar 
or front that is constructed with a se¬ 
ries of circles of strip metal. The best 
way is to go to the hardware store or 
iron dealer’s and buy a quantity of 
%-in., %-in., and %-in. iron, about % 
to iVin. thick. In fact iVin. metal 
would do in many cases where the 
parts are worked out small in size. 
The %-in. metal is very strong. Then 
after getting the supply of strip metal 
in stock, procure the usual type of 
metal worker’s hammer, a cheap anvil, 
a 9-lb. vise, a cold chisel, a file or two, 
and a round piece of shaft iron, about 
3 in. diameter and 2 to 3 ft. long. This 
piece of iron is represented at B, Fig. 
12 . 

The iron is held in position by means 
of the straps of metal C, C, which are 
bent over the shaft tightly and grip the 
board base with set or lag screws as 
shown. The wooden base should be 
about 2 in. thick and large enough to 
make a good support for the iron shaft. 
The process of bending the rings in this 
way is as shown. The piece of strip 
iron is grasped at D. Then with the 
hammer the iron is gradually worked 
cold about the mandrel as at E until 
the perfect form is acquired. After the 
form is finished, the strip at the ter¬ 
minus of the ring is cut off. In order 
to get a steady base the wooden part 
may be bolted to a bench. In Fig. 13 
is shown the method of clipping off the 
completed ring. The cold chisel is held 
upright, and by delivering several 
blows with the hammer upon the same, 
the point is caused to chip through the 
metal and release the ring. The shaft 
or mandrel is marked G. The cold 
chisel is indicated at I and the position 











































373 


where the hand grasps the strip is at H. 
The final operation in shaping the ring 
is by driving the protruding cut, lip 
down, to the common level of the oppo¬ 
site point, thus giving us the finished 
ring with the lips closed on the man¬ 
drel as at J, Fig. 14. These rings can 
be turned out in this way very speedily. 
The next operation involves the process 
of uniting the rings in the plan to shape 
the design. The design work is often 
worked out ahead and followed. Some 
become so proficient that they can de¬ 
velop a design as they proceed. 

Figure 11 is a design of grate front 
used for various purposes in connection 
with grate fires. The series of rings are 
united by a rivet between each at the 
joining point. With thin metal the 
holes can be punched with an iron 
punch and hammer on an anvil where 
there is a hole to receive the point of 
the punch after the punch penetrates 
the metal. For the heavier forms of 
metal a drill is necessary. A metal 
drill and brace can be purchased very 
cheaply for this work. After drilling 
the holes, the parts are erected and the 
rivets inserted and headed up as each 
addition is made. Thus the series of 
rings are united and then the side pieces 
are similarly riveted. The points at the 
top are then worked out and joined on. 
These points are filed down to the nec¬ 
essary taper after the union is effected. 
The finishing work involves smoothing 
rough places with a file and painting. 
Asphaltum makes a good black finish. 
Some of the best designs of grates are 
bronzed. Some are silvered. The dif¬ 
ferent designs are finished as desired 
by customers. 

Figure 15 is another design of grate 
in which the process of shaping the 
rings is like that in the first design. 
There are some half circles in this pat¬ 
tern and these are framed by shaping 
the same about the mandrel with the 
hammer. In order to get the shoulders 
close and the circle complete it is nec¬ 
essary to heat the metal. A coke fire 
can be made in a hole in the ground. 
Then procure a tin blowpipe and blow 
the flame against the metal at the point 
to be bent. This metal will become red 


hot very soon, and can be bent readily 
against the anvil and the circular form. 
Let the metal cool off on the ground 
after heating. Fig. 16 is another design 



which can be wrought out. The middle 
adjustment is wire screen work which 
may be bought at a hardware store and 
set into the position shown. Fig. 17 
shows a chipping off device useful in 
connection with this work. Metal chip- 
pers can be bought at any tool store. 
The chipper is placed in the jaws of 
the vise as at K, and secured there. 
The strip of metal in process of cutting 
is marked M. The hammer head is 
caused to strike the metal just over the 
cutting edge of the chipper. The quick, 











































374 


hard blow causes the cutting edge to 
penetrate far enough to sever the piece. 
Bending cold with a wooden form is 
done as in Fig. 18. The wooden form 
is marked P and is about 8 in. wide 
and 7 in. high, forming a one-sided oval 
shape. There is a pin R set into the 
base board of the oval form and the 
strip of metal for bending is grasped at 
S and the other end is inserted back of 
the pin R. By applying pressure, the 
strip of metal is bent to the form. 

Figure 19 shows the hour-glass wood 
bending form, made by selecting a 
piece of hard wood block, about 6 in. 
square and boring through with an inch 


bit. Then the hole is shaped hour-glass 
like. The view is a sectional one. The 
block is placed in a vise and the strip 
for bending is inserted as at T. 

The strip of metal is grasped at W 
and can be bent to various forms by ex¬ 
erting pressure. Fig. 20 is another type 
of fireplace front, constructed by unit¬ 
ing the shaped metal pieces. In fact an 
almost endless variety of designs can 
be wrought out after the start is once 
made. A good way to figure the price 
on the grate is to add up the costs of 
the parts and charge about 12 cents 
per hour for the work. 


How to Make a Water Wheel 


Considerable power can be developed 
with an overshot water wheel erected 
as in Fig. 1. This wheel is made with 
blocks of wood cut out in sections as 
indicated by the lines, so as to form the 
circle properly. The wheel can be 



about 24 in. in diameter to produce re¬ 
sults and about 10 in. wide. Get some 
tin cans and attach them around the 
wheel as shown. Bore the wheel cen¬ 
ter out and put on the grooved wood 
wheel, P, and a rope for driving, R. 
This rope runs to a wooden frame in the 
manner illustrated. The water is carried 
in a sluice affair, N, to the fall, O, where 
the water dippers are struck by the vol¬ 
ume and from 2 to 4 hp. will be pro¬ 
duced with this size of wheel if there is 
sufficient flow of water. This power 
can be used for running two or three 
sewing machines, fans, fret-saws, and 
the like. Another form of water wheel 
is shown in Fig. 2. This is driven by 
an underflow of current. This type of 
wheel can be made on lines similar to 
the other, only that the paddles are of 


wood and extend outward as shown. 
The wheel is supported in a bearing on 
the piece S. A belt, T, communicates 
the power to the wheel V and from here 
the power is carried to any desired 
point. 


How To Build An Imitation Street 
Car Line 

An imitation street car line may 
sound like a big undertaking, but, in 
fact, it is one of the easiest things a boy 
can construct, does not take much time 
and the expense is not great. A boy 
who lives on a farm can find many fine 
places to run such a line, and one in 
town can have a line between the house 
and the barn, if they are some distance 
apart. 

Often all the boards and blocks re¬ 
quired can be had for helping a carpen¬ 
ter clear away the rubbish around a 
new building. Wheels and parts of old 
bicycles, which can be used in so many 
ways, can be found at a junk shop at 
very low prices, wheels in good repair 
are not expensive. For the car for the 
street car line try to find a set of wheels 
having axles, but if you cannot find 
such, make shafts of hard wood, about 
3 in. by 2% in. and by means of a jack¬ 
knife turn, or shave down the ends to 
receive the hub bearings of the Wheels. 
Fasten the wheel hubs securely over 
















375 


the ends of the wood with pins or little 
bolts, or if the wheel bearing is of such 
a nature that it revolves on its 
own journal, the journal can be 
fastened to the end of the wood 
piece. Each of the wheels should 
be provided with a sprocket; any 
chain sprocket of a bicycle may 
be used. Fasten these sprockets 
on the outside of the wheels as 
shown in Fig. 1. They can be set 
on over the bearing end and se¬ 
cured with a set screw, or the 
original key can be employed. 

It is best in cases like this to use 
the original parts. Make the floor 
of the car of pieces of boards 
placed on the axles and nailed, 
screwed or bolted, as shown at A 
erect the frame, place uprights, C 


6 in. wide, to the edges of which nail 
strips about % in. wide and about the 



To 
C C 



C, in position as shown, fastening the 
ends to the base-boards, and making 
the roof line 
as at B, then 
put in the 
cross - pieces, 
G G. Seats, E 
E, are simply 
boxes. The 
drive of the 
car is effected 
by using the driving sprockets, D D, 
fitted to the crosspieces, G G, with the 
original bearings. The parts are there¬ 
by secured to the car and the chain 
placed on. 

Key the cranks for turning to the 
upper sprocket’s shaft and all is ready. 
If there are sprocket gears and cranks 
on either side, four boys may propel 
the car at one time. Considerable speed 
can be made on smooth roads, but it is 
the best amusement to run a car line 
on wooden tracks with a brake con¬ 
sisting of a piece of wooden shaft, pass¬ 
ing through a bore in the car floor, and 
fitted with a leather covered pad as at 
H. A spiral spring holds up the brake 
until pressure is applied by foot power, 
when the brake contacts with the 
wooden track and checks the car. 

The track plan is illustrated in Fig. 
2 . Get some boards and place them end 
for end on other pieces set as ties. The 
main boards or tracks, J J, can be about 


FiG I 

Construction of Car 

same height. The ties, I I, can be al¬ 
most any box boards. Wire nails are 
the best to use in putting the tracks 
together. The sprocket connection 
with the chain is shown in Fig. 3. This 
consists of the sprocket gear on the 
propelling shaft, and the crank. The 
pedals may be removed and a chisel 
handle, or any tool handle, substituted, 
so as to afford means for turning the 



Section of the Track 

crank by hand power. Great fun can 
be had with the road, and, furthermore, 
it can be made renumerative, as boys 
and girls can be given rides for a penny 
each. _ 

Apply a coat of raw starch water to 
a dirty wall before painting; this, when 
dry, may be brushed or wiped off. 

A good varnish for electric terminals 
is made of sealing wax dissolved in 
gasoline. To prevent brittleness add a 
little linseed oil. 














































376 



Method of Applying the Triangle Measure 


Measuring the Height of a Tree 

“Near the end of the season onr boy 
announced the height of our tall maple 
tree to be 33 ft. 

“ ‘Why, how do you know ?’ was the 
general question. 

“ ‘Measured it/ 

“ ‘How ?’ 

“ ‘Foot rule and yardstick/ 

“‘You didn’t climb that tall tree?’ 
his mother asked anxiously. 

“‘No’m; I found the length of the 
shadow and measured that/ 

“ ‘But the length of the shadow 
changes/ 

“‘Yes’m; but twice a day the shad¬ 
ows are just as long as the things them¬ 
selves. I’ve been trying it all summer. 
I drove a stick into the ground, and 
when its shadow was just as long as the 
stick I knew that the shadow of the 
tree would be just as long as the tree, 
and that’s 33 ft/ ” 

The above paragraph appeared in one 
of the daily papers which come to our 
office. The item was headed, “A Clever 
Boy.” Now we do not know who this 
advertised boy was, but we knew quite 
as clever a boy, one who could have got 


the approximate height of the tree with¬ 
out waiting for the sun to shine at a 
particular angle or to shine at all for 
that matter. The way boy No. 2 went 
about the same problem was this: He 
got a stick and planted it in the ground 
and then cut it off just at the level of 
his eyes. Then he went out and took a 
look at the tree and made a rough esti¬ 
mate of the tree’s height in his mind, 
and judging the same distance along 
the ground from the tree trunk, he 
planted his stick in the ground. Then 
he lay down on his back with his feet 
against the standing stick and looked 
at the top of the tree over the stick. 

If he found the top of stick and tree 
did not agree he tried a new position 
and kept at it until he could just see 
the tree top over the end of the upright 
stick. Then all he had to do was to 
measure along the ground to where his 
eye had been when lying down and that 
gave him the height of the tree. 

The point about this method is that 
the boy and stick made a right-angled 
triangle with boy for base, stick for 
perpendicular, both of the same length, 
and the “line of sight” the hypotenuse 
or long line of the triangle. When he 
got into the position which enabled him 
to just see the tree top over the top of 
the stick he again had a right-angled 
triangle with tree as perpendicular, his 
eye’s distance away from the trunk, 
the base, and the line of sight the 
hypotenuse. He could measure the base 
line along the ground and knew it must 
equal the vertical height, and he could 
do this without reference to the sun. 
It was an ingenious application of the 
well known properties of a right-angled 
triangle.—Railway and Locomotive En¬ 
gineer. 


White putty on a black window 
frame can be made to harmonize by 
rubbing the fresh putty with a piece of 
cotton dipped in lampblack. 


Sandpaper may be kept from slip¬ 
ping under the hand by chalking the 
back.. 

























377 


An Interesting Electrical 
Experiment 

Anyone possessing a battery having 
an electromotive force of from 4 to 20 
volts can perform the following ex¬ 
periment, which is particularly inter¬ 
esting on account of the variation of 
results with apparently the same 
conditions. 

Immerse two pieces of brass in a 
strong solution of common salt and 
water. Connect one piece to the posi¬ 
tive wire and the other to the negative, 
taking care that the brass pieces do 
not touch each other. 

After the current has passed one 



or two minutes, the solution will be¬ 
come colored, and if the process is con¬ 
tinued a colored pigment will be pre¬ 
cipitated. The precipitate varies con¬ 


siderably in color and may be either 
yellow, blue, orange, green or brown, 
depending on the strength of the cur¬ 
rent, the strength of the solution, and 
the composition of the brass. 


Novelty Chain Made from a Match 

The accompanying engraving shows 
what is possible to do with a penknife. 



a 


Lay a Match on the Picture 

A small chain composed of several 
links was cut from the wood that 
forms the match. 


CGlass doors in bookcases may be 
kept from swinging open by boring a 
hole, about % -in. deep, either at the 
top or bottom in the edge of the door, 
2 in. from the closing edge, and insert¬ 
ing an ordinary cork, allowing a small 
portion to project and rub on the 
facing. 


Restoring Broken Negatives 

Whoever has the misfortune to 
break a valuable negative need not de¬ 
spair, for the damage can be repaired 
most effectively. In case the negative 
be broken into many pieces, take a 
clean glass, the same size as the broken 
negative, and put upon this the pieces, 
joining them accurately, says Camera 
Craft. Put another clean glass on top 
of this and bind the three together 
with passe-partout binding or gummed 
strips of ordinary paper, as one would 
a lantern slide, and cover the glass 
edges. 

Next make a transparency of this— 
in the camera, of course—and if it is 
done right, the positive will only show 
the cracks as dark and light lines. The 



Before and after Mending 































378 


dark lines are removed with the etch¬ 
ing knife and the light ones with the 
retouching pencil. From this trans¬ 
parency another negative can be made, 
or as many negatives as necessary, by 
either contact or in the camera, and 
if the work on the glass positive was 
done carefully, no trace of the break 
should be seen on the finished nega¬ 
tive. If the negative is broken in two 
or three larger pieces only, a contact 
positive may be made in the printing 
frame without binding, by using a 
clean glass in the latter, upon which 
the pieces are put together, face up, 
and a dry plate exposed in contact 
with them in the dark room. The 
accompanying engravings show a print 
before and after repairing a broken 
negative in this manner. 


Coin and Tumbler Trick 


The accompanying sketch shows 
how a good trick may be easily per¬ 
formed by any one. Lay a piece of 



heavy paper that is free from creases 
on a board or table. Secure three tum¬ 
blers that are alike and stick a piece 
of the same heavy paper over the open¬ 
ings in two of them, neatly trimming 
it all around the edges so as to leave 
nothing of the paper for any one to 
see. Make three covers of paper as 
shown in Fig. 1 to put over the tum¬ 
blers. Place three coins on the sheet 
of paper, then the tumblers with cov¬ 
ers on top of the coins, the unprepared 
tumbler being in the middle. Now lift 


the covers off the end tumblers, and 
you will see that the paper on the open¬ 
ings covers the coins. Replace the cov¬ 
ers, lift the middle one, and a coin will 
be seen under the tumbler, as the open¬ 
ing of this tumbler is not covered. 
Drop the cover back again and lift the 
other tumblers and covers bodily, so 
that the spectators can see the coins, 
remarking at the same time that you 
can make them vanish from one to the 
other. The openings of the tumblers 
must never be exposed so that any 
one can see them, and a safe way to 
do this is to keep them level with the 
table. 


Another Way to Renew Dry 
Batteries 


There are many methods of renew¬ 
ing dry batteries, and I have used sev¬ 
eral of them, but I found the follow¬ 
ing the best: Remove the paper 
cover and with a 34 -in. drill make 
about six holes around the side of the 
zinc, about Yz in. from the bottom. 
Then drill another row of holes about 
half way up the side and put the bat¬ 
tery to soak in a solution of sal am¬ 
moniac for 48 hours. Then remove 
and plug the holes up with hard soap, 
and replace in the paper box, when it 
will give nearly as strong a current as 
when new. 


Simply Made Wire Puzzle 


The object of this simply made wire 
puzzle is to get the ring off, which is 
not easy unless you know how. To do 
so it is necessary to move 
the triangle with ring 
to one of the hinge 
joints and fold the puz¬ 
zle. Then slip the ring 
off the triangle over the 
hinge joint and it will 
slip all around and 
off at the other hinge. 

-» ♦ ♦- 

Diabolo is pronounced Dee-ab-lo. 





















379 


Repairing Box Cameras 

In repairing the inner part of box 
cameras which have been broken loose, 
use a binding of strong black cloth 
well glued in place. This will mate¬ 
rially strengthen the joints where the 
wooden pieces are so thin that it is 
impossible to use brads in holding 
them together. 

Do not forget to thoroughly clean all 
the old glue or cement from the joints 
with a rasp or sandpaper before at¬ 
tempting a repair. 


is enough wire twisted to form a good 
handle, pass the ends around the can 



Handle on a Tin Can 


at the bottom and twist them together 
on the opposite side.—Contributed by 
W. A. Lane, El Paso, Tex. 


A Fishhook Box 

A box that may be used to hold fish¬ 
hooks, sinkers, matches or any small 
articles, can be made from two empty 
shot-gun cartridges as shown in the 
sketch. The paper is cut from the 
brass part of one shell at the place 
marked A, Fig. 1, and the brass part, 
Fig. 2, is used for a cap on the other 



__i_A 




IHI 

If 

m imiiMjinimiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiuiiimrmiiiMii 


Hill 

in Man 


Fig l 

Fig.2 


in 

mill i hlii 


: a 

r $ ^ 

.uiuHiiiiiiinnii.MMlliilllliililimiMtniiiiiHiiiuiLi 


Fig.3 

Made of Shotgun Shells 


shell (Fig. 3). Coating the box with 
shellac will improve its appearance.— 
Contributed by Abner B. Shaw, N. 
Dartmouth, Mass. 


A Bookmark 

A very handy bookmark can be 
made by attaching a narrow ribbon to 
an ordinary pa¬ 
per clip and 
using it as 
shown in the 
sketch. The clip 
is slipped over 
the binding in 
the back of the 
book as shown in the sketch.—Con¬ 
tributed by Chester E. Warner, Kala¬ 
mazoo, Mich. 



Kitchen Knife Sharpener 

A good serviceable knife sharpener 
may be made from a piece of steel cut 
as shown with two screw holes drilled 
for fastening it to a piece of wood or to 
a table. The knife is drawn through 
and sharpened on either side. Both po¬ 
sitions of the knife are shown. The 


A Tin Drinking Cup for the Camp 

If in need of a drinking cup while 
camping, a temporary cup can be made 
of a tomato or baking-powder can. 
Punch two holes near the top of the 
can; bend a piece of wire and place the 
ends through the holes as shown at A 
in the sketch. Pull the ends to draw 
the loop close up on the inside of the 
tin and then twist the ends to form 
a handle as shown at B. When there 



steel is hardened before fastening it in 
place.—Contributed by George Mad¬ 
sen, Chicago, Ill. 


























































380 


Devices of Winter Sports—How to Make and Use Them 


In the north the red-cheeked boy 
digs a hole in the ice and while he 
amuses and invigorates himself at skat¬ 
ing, the fish underneath the icy sheet 
fasten themselves to 
the hook he has let 
down through a hole. 
The boy used to sit 
over the hole in the 
ice and wait for the 
fish to bite, but that 
became too slow and 
detracted too much 
from his pleasure at 
skating. So his in¬ 
ventive genius set it¬ 
self to work and the “tip-up” and “sig¬ 
nal” shown in the illustration was the 
result. When the fish is not biting the 
flag lies flat on the ice, but as soon as 
a fish has swallowed the hook the flag 
pole stands straight up wafting its 
bright colored flag to the breezes and 
all the. boys on the skating pond read 
the word “fish.” The fish is drawn up, 
the hook rebaited and the youthful fish¬ 
erman resumes his pleasures on the 
ice. Often a score or more of these 
“tip-ups” are planted about the edges 
of the ice pond, each boy bringing his 
fishing tackle with his skates and thus 
finding a double source of amusement. 
Maybe one boy will thus have a half 
dozen different lines in the water at 
once, it being easy to watch them all 
together. 

The device by 
which the fish is 
made to give its own 
signal when caught 
is exceedingly simple 
and any boy can 
make it. Procure a 
light rod about 2 ft. 
in length and to one 
end fasten a small 

"Tip-up” Fish caught fla .g, made of any 
bright colored cloth. 
Bind the rod at right angles to another 
stick which is placed across the hole, 
so that a short piece of the flagrod pro¬ 
jects over the cross stick. To this short 
end fasten the fishing line. Be sure and 


use strong string in binding the two 
rods together, and also take care that 
the cross stick is long enough to permit 
several inches of each end to rest on 
the ice. After fastening the line to the 
short end of the rod, bait the hook with 
a live minnow or other suitable bait 
and let it down through the hole. When 
the fish is hooked the flag will instant¬ 
ly raise and wave about strenuously 
until the fish is taken from the water. 

“Jumping-Jack” Fisherman 

If the small boy has a “jumping- 
jack” left over from Christmas, he may 
make this do his 
fishing for him 
and serve as well 
as the “tip-up,” or 
he can easily make 
the jumplng-jack 
himself independ¬ 
ent of Santa Claus. 
The string which 
is pulled to make 
the joints move is 
tied securely to 
the fishing line; 
the hook is baited and lowered into the 
water through a hole in the ice. The 
“jumping-jack” waves his legs and 
arms frantically to notify the boys 
when the fish is biting. The “jump¬ 
ing-jack” is also used for fishing in 
summer time by placing it on a float 
which is cast into the water. 

Merry-Go-Round Whirl on Ice 

A German device for the amusement 
of children is a whirl on an ice merry- 
go-round. It is made by placing a 
vertical shaft or stake, provided with a 
couple of old cart-wheels, in a hole in 
the ice. One wheel acts as a turning 
base and prevents the shaft from sink¬ 
ing into the pond, and the other forms 
a support for the long sweep attached 
for propulsion purposes, and should be 
fastened to the shaft about 3 ft. above 
the base wheel. The sleds are made 
fast in a string to the long end of the 
sweep, which when turned rapidly 








































381 


causes the sleds to slide over the ice in 
a circle at a high speed. 

If the sweep is long enough to have 
each end from the shaft the same 
length, two strings of sleds may be at¬ 
tached, which will balance the device 
and make the turning much easier. 

The Running Sleigh 

Another winter sport, very popular in 
Sweden, and which has already reached 
America, is the “running sleigh,” shown 
in the illustration. A light 
sleigh is equipped with long 
double runners and is pro¬ 
pelled by foot power. The 
person using the sleigh 
stands with one foot upon a 
rest attached to one of the 
braces connecting the run¬ 
ners and propels the sleigh 
by pushing backward with 
the other foot. To steady 
the body an upright support 
is attached to the runners. 

The contrivance can be used 
upon hard frozen ground, 
thin ice and snow-covered 
surfaces, and under favor¬ 
able conditions moves with 
remarkable speed. The “running 
sleigh” has a decided advantage over 
skis, because the two foot supports are 
braced so that they cannot come apart. 
Any boy can make the sleigh. 

The Winged Skater 

With the actual speed of the wind a 
skater may be hurled along the ice if he 
is aided by sails. He has been known 
to travel at the rate of 40 miles an hour, 


of excitement, is not attended with dan¬ 
ger. The sails are easily made, as the 
illustrations and description will show. 

Secure two large thin hoops about 4 
ft. in diameter. They may be obtained 
from an old hogshead or by bending 
thin strips. For each hoop select a 
piece of strong cane about % in. in di¬ 
ameter to constitute the fore and main 
masts or cross-yards. Extend these 
across the center of the hoop and fasten 
each end firmly to the hoop’s sides. For 


the middle of each cross-spar make a 
cleat and lash it on firmly. The main 
spar should also be made of two pieces 
of strong cane, each about 9% ft. long. 
Bind them together at each end so that 
the large end of one is fastened to the 
small end of the other. 

Next comes the attaching of the sails 
to the separate masts. The sails 
should be made of strong sheeting or 
thin canvas. Tack the cloth to the hoop 
on the inner side after 
it has been wrapped around 
the hoop two or three 
times. 

Now the main spar 
should be attached by 
springing it apart and slip¬ 
ping the cleats of the cross¬ 
spar between the two 
pieces. Bind the inner 
sides of the hoops tightly 
together by means of a very 
strong double cord, as 
shown in the figure. Then your sail 



and the sport while affording the limit 
































382 


is ready for the ice pond. See that your 
skates are securely fastened, raise your 



Skater’s Sails Finished 


sail and you will skim along the ice as 
lightly as a bird on the wing. With a 
little practice you will learn to tack and 
guide yourself as desired. 


If the hoops cannot be easily obtained 
the sails may be made equally effective 
by using the main spar and fore and 


main masts as herein described, mak¬ 
ing the sails square shaped instead of 
round and leaving off the 
hoops. In this case the sails 
should be securely bound 
with strong tape. Attach a 
corner to each end of the 
cross-spar, and a corner to 
the outer end of the main 
spar. The remaining corner 
of each then appears oppo¬ 
site to each other, and should 
be fastened together by 
strong cord in the same man¬ 
ner as the hoops. In this case the sails 
may be left off until after the frame is 
entirely put together and then fastened 
on to the spars by buttons. 

A more simple sail may 
be made according to the 
plans illustrated in the 
lower drawing: It is made 
by binding together in the 
center the halves of two 
strong hogshead hoops, or 
two bent poles are better. 
If possible the sail should 
be about 8 ft. long and 4 ft. 
wide. Fasten on the sail at 
the four corners. The rig 
will convey two persons 
and is more easily con¬ 
structed than any other. 

Ice Boating 

But the sport that is 
greatest of all, the one that 
used to be part of the life 
of every northern boy, and 
which is being revived in 
popularity after years of 
stagnation, is ice boating. 
With the aid of old skates, 
pieces of board and an old 
sheet or a small bit of can¬ 
vas, any boy possessed of 
ordinary mechanical genius 
may make an ice boat. The 
frame of the boat should be 
made something in the 
form of a kite. The center- 
board should be 4 or 5 ft. long, 6 in. 
wide and 2 in. thick. The cross board 
may be of a piece of 1 by 6-in. plank 3 ft. 

































383 


long. Fasten these with braces of 
small stout strip, as shown in the draw¬ 
ing, and screw the cross-piece securely 
to the center-board. Bore a hole in the 
center of the intersection for the mast 
pole. The seat may be made of a piece 
of strong cloth or leather. Three 
skates are fastened on to either side 
of the cross-board and one to the rear 
end of the center-board, the latter of 
which is to operate as a rudder. In 
attaching the skates first make a couple 
of. runner blocks, each 6 in. long and 
3 in. wide. Bore holes in them for the 
straps of the 
skates to 
pass through 
and fasten 
them secure¬ 
ly. Nail the 
runner 
blocks firmly 
to the cross- 
_ , „ board about 

Boy s Ice Boat -i i / • r 

1 V 2 in. from 

each end. 



In making the rudder hew down a 
piece of scantling 1 ft. long until it 
assumes the shape of a club with 
a flat base. Nail a strip of wood firmly 
to this base, and to the strip fasten the 
skate. Run the top of the club through 
a hole bored in the stern of the center- 
board. Then make the helm by boring 
a hole in one end of a strip of soft board 
about 1 ft. long, and through this hole 
pass the club or rubber-pole and fasten 
it so it may be shifted when desired. 
Make the sail out of an old sheet, if it 
be strong enough, piece of canvas, or 
any such substance and attach it to the 
mast and sprit as shown in the illus¬ 
tration, and guide it by a stout string 
attached to the lower outer corner. As 



Fig. 1—Barrel Stave Sled 


an ice boat will travel faster than the 
wind, some care and considerable skill 
is necessary. Unless you are accus¬ 
tomed to managing a sail boat, do not 


select a place in which to learn where 
there are air holes or open water. To 
stop the boat throw the head around 
into the wind, same as you would with 



occupants of the boat should lie flat on 
their stomach. 


Coasters and Chair Sleighs 

Make your own sled, boys! There is 
no use in buying them, because your 
hand-made sled is probably better than 
any purchased one and then you can 
take so much more 
pride in it when you 
know it is of your 
own construction. 

There are so many 
different designs of 
sleds that can be 
made by hand that 
the matter can be left almost entirely 
to your own ingenuity. You can make 
one like the bought sleds and face the 
runners with pieces of an iron hoop 
which will answer every purpose. A 



Fig. 2 —Folding Chair Sleigh Bottom 


good sled for coasting consists simply 
of two barrel staves and three pieces of 
board as shown in the picture, Fig. 1. 
No bought sled will equal it for coast¬ 
ing and it is also just the thing for car¬ 
rying loads of snow for building snow 
houses. The method of its construc¬ 
tion is so simple that no other descrip¬ 
tion is needed than the picture. You 



















384 


can make a chair-sleigh out of this by 
fitting a chair on the cross board in¬ 
stead of the long top board or it will 
be still stronger if the top board is 
allowed to remain, and then you will 
have a device that can readily again be 
transform e d 
into a coast¬ 
ing sled. In 
making the 
chair - sleigh 
it is neces¬ 
sary, in or¬ 
der to hold 

Fig. 4—Folding Chair the chair in 

Sleigh Open p l ace , tQ ndl 

four L-shaped blocks on the cross 
boards, one for each leg of the chair. 
Skating along over the ice and pushing 
the chair in front of him the proud pos¬ 
sessor of a chair-sleigh may take his 
mother, grown sister or lady friend 
with him on his outings, and permit 
her to ride in the chair. 

Folding Chair Sleigh 

A folding chair sleigh is even more 
enjoyable and convenient than the de¬ 
vice just described. If the ice pond is 
far from home this may be placed un¬ 
der your arm and carried where you 
like. 

The illustrations, Figs. 2 and 3, show 
all the parts as they should look before 



Fig. 5—Folding Chair Sleigh Closed 


being joined together. The seat may 
be made of a piece of canvas or carpet. 
The hinges are of leather. Figure 4 
shows the folding chair sleigh after it 
has been put together. Skates are em¬ 
ployed for the runners. The skates 
may be strapped on or taken off when¬ 
ever desired. When the chair is lifted 
the supports slip from the notches on 
the side bars and fall on the runner 
bars. The chair is then folded up so 
that it can be carried by a small boy. 
With regular metal hinges and light 
timbers a very handsome chair can be 
constructed that will also afford an 
ornamental lawn chair for summer. 


The Toboggan Sled 

When the snow is very deep a to¬ 
boggan sled is the thing for real sport. 
The runners of the ordinary sled break 
through the crust of the deep, snow, 
blocking the progress, and spoiling the 
fun. The toboggan sled, with its broad, 
smooth bottom, glides along over the 
soft surface with perfect ease. 

To make the toboggan sled, secure 
two boards each 10 ft. long and 1 ft. 
wide and so thin that they can be easily 
bent. Place the boards beside each 
other and join them together with cross 
sticks. Screw the boards to the cross 
stick from the bottom and be sure that 
the heads of the screws are buried deep 
enough in the wood to not protrude, so 



that the bottom will present an abso¬ 
lutely smooth surface to the snow. 
Fasten two side bars to the top of the 
cross sticks and screw them firmly. In 
some instances the timbers are fastened 
together by strings, a groove being cut 
in the bottom of the boards so as to 
keep the strings from protruding and 
being ground to pieces. After the side 
bars are securely fastened, bend the 
ends of the boards over and tie them to 
the ends of the front cross bar to hold 
them in position. See Fig. 6. The 
strings for keeping the boards bent 
must be very strong. Pieces of stout 
wire, or a slender steel rod, are even 
better. The toboggan slide is the fa¬ 
vored device of sport among the boys 
in Canada, where nearly every boy 
knows how to make them. 

The Norwegian Ski. 

You have often read of the ski, the 
snowshoe used by the Norwegians and 
other people living in the far north. 
With them the men and women glide 
down the snow-covered mountain 
sides, leap across ditches, run races and 
have all kinds of sport. They are just 




















385 


as amusing to the American boy who 
has ever learned to manipulate them, 
and it is wonderful how much skill can 
be attained in their use. Any boy with 
a little mechanical ingenuity can make 
a pair of skis (pronounced skees). They 
can be made from two barrel staves. 
Select staves of straight grained wood. 
Sharpen the ends of each and score 
each end by cutting grooves in the 
wood, as shown in the cut, Fig. 7. A 
pocket knife or small gouge will suffice 
for this work. Then smear the end of 
the staves with oil and hold them close 
to a hot fire until they can be bent so 
as to tip the toes upward, as shown in 
the picture, Fig. 7. Then with a cord 
bind the staves as they are bent and 
permit them to remain thus tied until 
they retain the curved form of their 
own accord. Now screw on top of each 
ski a little block, just broad and high 
enough to fit in front of the heels of 
your shoe. Fasten a strap in front of 




--- 



< 0 

1 


F1&.7 

Home-Made Skis 


each block through which to slip your 
toes, and the skis are made. The inside 
of the shoe heel should press firmly 
against the block and the toe be held 
tightly under the strap. This will keep 
the skis on your feet. Now procure a 
stick with which to steer and hunt a 
snow bank. At first you will afford 
more amusement to onlookers than to 
yourself, for the skis have a way of try¬ 
ing to run in opposite directions, cross¬ 
wise and various ways, but with prac¬ 
tice you will soon become expert in 
their manipulation. 


Home-Made Settee 

Many people have old wooden beds 
stored away which can easily be made 
into handy settees like the one shown 
in the accompanying photograph. A 
few nails and one-half dozen 3-in. 
screws are all the materials necessary 


besides the old bed. The tools needed 
are a saw, hammer and a screwdriver. 
The head-board, if too high, can be cut 



Settee Made from Old Wooden Bed 


off and some of the ornaments replaced. 
The footboard must be cut in two to 
make the ends or arms of the settee. 
The side rails and a few of the slats are 
used in making the seat.—Contributed 
by Wm. F. Hild, Lake Forest, Ill. 


Enameling a Bicycle Frame 

Make an enamel by mixing 2 oz. 
burnt umber with 1 qt. boiled oil, heat¬ 
ing, and then adding 1 oz. asphaltum. 
Keep the mass hot until thoroughly 
mixed, says the Master Painter. Thin 
with turpentine while still hot. 

Use a camel’s hair brush for applying 
the enamel and allow it to set; then 
place the article in an oven, bake for 
six or eight hours at a temperature of 
250 deg. F. When cool rub down with 
steel wool. Apply a finishing coat and 
allow it to bake eight hours at 250 deg. 
F. Rub down with a soft rag, varnish 
and bake again at 200 deg. F. Heat 
and cool the frame gradually each time. 
Black enamel is easiest to apply and 
bakes hardest, but requires a tempera¬ 
ture of 300 deg. Colors can be baked 
at from 200 to 250 deg. 










386 


How to Make a Sewing Bag 

A very practical and novel sewing 
bag for odds and ends necessary for 
mending, etc., can be made of a fold¬ 
ing camp stool. If an old stool is not 



Camp-Stool Work Bag 

at hand, a new one can be purchased 
for 25 cents. Remove the top or seat, 
which is usually made of a piece of 
carpet, then make a bag as shown in 
Fig. 1 and stitch a heavy cord around 
the top to make it strong. Make pock¬ 
ets on the inside as shown and nail the 
bag to the two crosspieces on which 
the ends of the carpet were tacked. 
Large, brass furniture nails should be 
used. Attach a small hook and eye 
on each end and fasten two leather 
handles to the crosspieces. 

Such a bag requires little room when 
folded and can be stored in a closet 
when not in use.—Contributed by Jo¬ 
seph Ledwinka, Philadelphia, Pa. 


Home-Made Roller Skates 

The rubber-tired wheels of an old 
carpet sweeper can be used to advan¬ 
tage in making a pair of roller skates. 
In Fig. 1 is shown how an iron washer 
or two may be fastened to the wood 
with a piece of sheet metal to support 


Fie. J Fig.? 

Rubber Tired Roller Skate 

the short axles of the wheels. The 
wheels are oiled through the holes A 
and B, Fig. 2. These holes should be 


smaller than the axles. The two side 
pieces are fastened together with a 
board nailed on the top edges, as 
shown. This board also furnishes the 
flat top for the shoe sole. Two straps 
are attached for fastening the skate to 
the shoe.—Contributed by Thos. De 
Loof, Grand Rapids, Mich. 


Adjuster for Flexible Electric Wires 

The accompanying illustration shows 
an adjuster for changing the drop of an 
electric light. The main feature of this 
adjuster is that it can be removed from 
the cord at any time. The adjuster 
is made from a piece of wood, % in. 
thick, 2 in. wide and 3 in. long. A %- 
in. hole is bored in the center near each 
end of the wood and a slot cut from 



Can Be Taken from the Cord 

the holes to the outside edge, as shown 
in Fig. 1. It is attached to the flexible 
cord as shown in Fig. 2.—Contributed 
by J. J. Voelcker, Decatur, Ill. 


Making Photographs on Watch 
Dials 

Beat to a foam the white of an egg, 
with the addition of a little ammonia. 
Add 9 oz. and 3 dr. of water and beat 
again. After the egg has settled, filter 
and let the liquid run over the dial, 
which has been previously cleaned with 
ammonia. When the surplus has run 
off, coat with the mixture and allow to 
dry. 

A sensitive collodion is now produced 
as follows: Dissolve 9 gr. of chloride 
of zinc in 5 dr. of alcohol; add 7% gr. 
of collodion cotton and 6% dr. of ether. 
Shake the whole forcibly. 



























































387 


Dissolve 23 gr. of nitrate of silver in 
hot water, add 1 y 2 dr. of alcohol and 
keep the whole solution by heating. 
The silver solution is now added in 
small quantities at a time to the col¬ 
lodion, which must be well settled. 
This, of course, is done in the dark 
room. After 24 hours the emulsion is 
filtered by passing it through cotton 
moistened with alcohol. This durable 
collodion emulsion is now flowed 
thinly upon the prepared watch dial, 
which, after the collodion has coagu¬ 
lated, is moved up and down in distilled 


water until the fatty stripes disappear. 
The water is then changed once, and 
after a short immersion, the dial is left 
to dry on a piece of blotting paper. It 
is now ready for exposure. Expose 
under magnesium light and develop 
with a citrate oxalic developer, or in 
the following hydroquinone developer: 


Hydroquinone .1 dr. 

Bromide of potassium.6 dr. 

Sulphite of soda.1^4 oz. 

Carbonate of soda.2 2/3 dr. 

Water .14 oz. 


After fixing and drying, coat with a 
transparent positive varnish. 


Home-Made Overhead Trolley Coaster 


The accompanying sketch shows a 1 and 2, of strips of wood bolted with 
playground trolley line which furnished stove bolts on two grooved pulleys, 
a great deal of amusement to many The middle wide board was made of 
children at a minimum cost. The wire, hardwood. The wheels were taken 
which is 3/16 in. in diameter, was from light pulley blocks and stove bolts 
stretched between a tree and a barn were purchased from a local hardware 
across a vacant quarter block. The store to accurately fit the hubs. As it 
strength of the wire was first tested was necessary to keep the bearings 
by a heavy man. When not in use the greased, we used vaseline. This 
wire is unhooked from the tree and coaster made great sport for the young- 



hauled into the barn and coiled loosely 
in the hay loft. The wire was made 
taut for use by a rope which was fas¬ 
tened to the beams in the barn. The 
trolley was made, as shown in Figs. 


sters and at no time were they in dan¬ 
ger of a serious fall as the line was 
hung low and the slant of the wire was 
moderate.—Contributed by H. J. Hol¬ 
den, Palm Springs, Calif. 








































388 


How to Make an Electric Furnace Regulator 


We have a furnace in our house and 
a part of my work each evening - last 
winter was to go down in the basement 
at 9 o’clock, fill the furnace with coal 
for the night and stay there until it 
was burning in good shape, then to 
close the draft door. As this perform¬ 
ance requires from twenty to thirty 


of iron is hinged to I. To the other side 
of H another cord G is fastened, which 
passes over the pulley N and termin¬ 
ates in any convenient place in the 
rooms above. This piece of iron H is 
held in place by the release A. Now 
C is a coil of wire from a door bell. R 
is an armature which works A on pivot 



minutes I concluded to make a self¬ 
acting device which would close the 
draft and leave the furnace safe, with¬ 
out any further attention on my part, 
after putting in the coal and opening 
it up to burn. As some other boys 
may like to build the same regulator I 
will tell just how to make one and how 
it operates. , 

Referring to Fig. 1, you will see a 
straight cord is attached to the draft 
door of the furnace, D, and is run over 
the pulley P and finally is attached 
to a small piece of iron, H. This piece 


J. M is a U-tube, filled with mercury, 
one end being connected to a half liter 
glass flask F by the tube T, and the 
other end terminates in an overflow 
tube O. B is a battery of three bi¬ 
chromate cells which are connected up 
with the C and the platinum points 1— 
2, which are fused into the U-tube. 

On fixing the furnace the iron piece 
H takes position X, this being the nor¬ 
mal position when draft door D is 
closed. On arriving upstairs I pull 
the cord G, which causes the piece H 
to become fixed in the vertical position 

















































389 


by means of A. This opens the draft 
door at the same time. Now when the 
furnace heats up sufficiently it causes 
the air to expand in F, which causes 
the mercury in M to rise a little above 
the point 2. This immediately causes 
a current to flow through C which in 
turv ^raws R towards it, raises A and 
causes H to drop to position X. This 
shuts the furnace door. Now the fur¬ 
nace, of course, cools down, thus caus¬ 
ing the air in F to contract and conse¬ 
quently opening the circuit through C. 
If at any time the furnace should over¬ 
heat, the raising of A, on which is 
grounded a wire from a signal bell up¬ 
stairs, will make a circuit through the 
bell by means of the point Z and wire 
leading therefrom. This bell also 
serves to tell me whether H has 
dropped or not. This same device of 
regulating the draft D can be used to 
regulate the damper, found on the coal 
doors of most furnaces, by simply fus¬ 
ing a platinum point on the other side 
of M and changing the cord which is at¬ 
tached to D. A two-contact switch 
could also be inserted to throw con¬ 
nections from 2 to 3. It would work 
in this manner: The damper door, of 
course, which keeps a low fire, would 
be up in a position similar to D; on 
the furnace cooling too much, connec¬ 
tion, due to contracting of air in F, 
would be made through 3 and C, caus¬ 
ing H to drop, thus closing door. This 
simple device worked very well all last 
winter and gave me no trouble what¬ 
ever. 

If you cannot readily procure a U- 
tube, you can make one, as I did, and 
the work is interesting. 

The U-tube is constructed in the fol¬ 
lowing manner. A glass tube is closed 
at one end. This is done by holding 
the tube in one corner of a gas flame, 
somewhat near the dark area (A, Fig. 
2), and constantly turning the tube, 
when it will be found that the glass has 
melted together. Now, after it is cool, 
about 3 or 4 in. from the sealed end, 
the tube is held steadily so that the 
flame will heat one small portion (B, 
Fig. 2). After this small portion is 


heated blow into the tube, not very 
hard, but just enough to cause tube to 
bulge out. Allow to cool. Then re¬ 
heat the small bulged portion, blow 
quite hard, so that the glass will be 
blown out at this point, forming a small 
hole. Now insert about % in. of plat¬ 
inum wire and reheat, holding platinum 



wire by means of a small pliers so that 
it will be partly in the tube and partly 
without. The platinum will stick to 
the glass, and if glass is sufficiently 
heated one will be able to pull it, by 
means of pliers, from one side of the 
hole to the other, thus sealing the wire 
into the tube. Another wire is sealed 
in the same way about 1 in. from the 
first. Now, to bend the tube, one must 
hold it, with both hands, in the flame 
and turn constantly until soft. Quickly 
withdraw from flame and bend, just as 
you would a piece of copper wire. 
Allow to cool slowly. 

The several tubes are connected with 
a short piece of rubber tubing. 

The total cost of materials for con¬ 
structing the apparatus complete will 
not amount to more than one dollar.—* 
Contributed by M. G. Kopf, Lewis In¬ 
stitute, Chicago. 

Weatherproofing for Tents 

Dissolve 4 oz. sulphate of zinc in 10 
gal. water; add % lb. sal-soda; stir well 
until dissolved, and add % oz. tartaric 
acid. Put the tent cover in this solu¬ 
tion and let lie 24 hrs. Take out (do 
not wring it) and hang up to dry.— 
Grinnell’s Hand Book on Painting. 


Sheet metal placed between two 
boards in the jaws of a vise and 
clamped tightly, can be sawed easily 
with a hacksaw. 




390 


A Monoplane Weather Vane 


The toy windmill or weather vane 
shown in the sketch is made to repre¬ 
sent a Bleriot monoplane. The pro¬ 



peller is turned by the wind. The 
frame is made of heavy wire and con¬ 
nected with straps of tin. The con¬ 
struction is plainly shown in the illus¬ 
tration. The windmill vane can be 
made in any size to suit the builder.— 
Contributed by W. C. Bliss, St. Louis, 
Missouri. 


How to Make a Minnow Trap 

Glass minnow traps that will give as 
good service as those purchased at the 
tackle store can be made without diffi¬ 
culty. If a trap should be banged care¬ 
lessly against the side of the boat or 
some other obstruction and smashed, 
instead of spending several dollars to 
replace it, a half hour’s time will turn 
out a new one just as good, says a cor¬ 
respondent of Outing. 

A trap of this kind can be made from 
an ordinary fruit jar such as used in 
putting up preserves, either of one or 
two-quart capacity. A one-quart jar 
gives good results, but if the bait to be 
caught is of fairly large size, the two- 
quart size may be used. As the jars 
have the same style top they can be 


used interchangeably with one mouth¬ 
piece. 

The mouthpiece is made of a round- 
neck bottle of which the glass is color¬ 
less and rather thin. If the neck of the 
bottle is' cut at the right point, it 
makes a glass funnel that will just fit 
into the fruit jar. The funnel forms 
the mouth of the trap. Put the neck 
of the bottle into the fruit jar and mark 
the glass with a file where the bottle 
and jar meet. Make as deep a cut as 
possible with a file around the bottle 
on the mark and place two turns of a 
yarn string saturated in kerosene 
around just below the cut when the 
bottle is standing in an upright posi¬ 
tion. Set fire to the string and turn 
the bottle from side to side to distrib¬ 
ute the heat evenly, then when the 
string has burned out, plunge the bot¬ 
tle in cold water and it will separate 
on the cut. 

Bind some copper wire around the 
neck of the jar so that three ends will 
project % in. or more. These are bent 
down over the funnel when put into 
the jar, forming clamps to hold it in 
place. The copper wire can be bent 
many times in emptying or baiting the 
trap without breaking. 

Two copper wire bands are tied 
tightly around the jar about 3 in. apart. 
They should be twisted tight with a 
pair of pliers and the ends joined, 
forming a ring for attaching a cord. 

For catching “kellies” or “killies,” 
bait the trap with crushed clams or 
salt-water mussels and for fresh water 
shiners use mincemeat or bread crumbs 
and do not spill any bait outside of the 
trap. Leave the trap down ten to fif¬ 
teen minutes and when resetting it 
after emptying, put back one or two of 
the victims, as the others enter more 
readily if they see some of their com¬ 
panions ahead of them. 


A Remedy for Leaking Fountain Pens 

Fountain-pen leaks may often be 
prevented by unscrewing the joint and 
lightly smearing the screw with vase¬ 
line. This also makes it easy to un¬ 
screw the joint for filling. 


















391 


Kites of Many Kinds and How to Make Them 


One of the prettiest of all is the but¬ 
terfly kite. To make this get two thin 
kite sticks of equal length. Bend each 
in an arc, tying one end of a strong 
string to one end of each stick and 
the other end of the 
string to a point 
about 3 in. from the 
other end of the 
stick. This leaves one. 
end of each stick 
free, hooking over 
the hemisphere de¬ 
scribed by the thread 
and the stick. Now 
tie another thread to 
each of these free ends and tie the other 
end of the thread to a point near the 
other end of the stick, corresponding 
with the distance from the end at which 
the first strings were tied on the oppo¬ 
site side. This done, you should have 
two arched frames, each an exact coun¬ 
terpart of the other in size, curvature 
and weight. Now fasten the two 
frames together so that the arcs will 
overlap each other as shown in the 
sketch. Bind the intersecting points 
securely with thread. To make the 
butterfly’s head, secure two heavy 
broom straws or two short wires, and 
attach them to the top 
part of the wing 
frames near where the 
sticks intersect, so 
that the straws or 
wires will cross. These 
form the antennae, or 
the “smellers.” Then 
select the color of pa¬ 
per you want, yellow, 
brown, blue, white or 
any other color; lay 
it on a flat surface and 
place the frame on top 
of it, holding the 
frame down securely with a weight. 
Then with a pair of scissors cut the pa¬ 
per around the frame, leaving about a 
y 2 - in. margin for pasting. Cut slits in 
the paper about 2 in. apart around the 
curves and at all angles to keep the 
paper from wrinkling when it is pasted. 


Distribute the paste with a small brush 
and make the overlaps a little more 
than % in. wide and press them to¬ 



gether with, a soft cloth. When the 
kite is dry decorate it with paint or 
strips of colored paper in any de¬ 
sign you may fancy. The best ef¬ 
fects are produced by pasting pieces of 
colored paper on top of the other pa¬ 
per. Black paper decorations show up 
to fine advantage when the kite is in 
flight. Attach the “belly-band” to the 
curved sticks 
by punching 
a hole in the 
paper in the 
same m a li¬ 
ner as it is 
attached to 
the common 
hexagonal or 
coffin-shaped 
kite. With a 
tail, your 
kite is ready 
to fly. 

Ano t h e r 
interes ting 
design is the 

Frame for Girl Kite boy k j t e 

With light colored coat and vest and 
gay striped trousers, the kite stand¬ 
ing high in the air always attracts at- 













392 


tention and affords splendid sport for 
the American youth in springtime. 

In making a boy kite it should be 
remembered that the larger the boy is 
the better he will fly. To construct the 
frame, two straight sticks, say 3^2 ft. 
long, should serve for the legs and 



body; another straight stick forms the 
spine and should be about 2 ft. 4 in. 
long. For the arms, get a fourth 
straight stick about 3 ft. 3 in. long. 
Make the frame for the head by bend¬ 
ing a light tough stick in a circle about 
7 in. in diameter. Bind it tightly with 
a strong thread and through its center 
run the spine. Then tack on the arm 
stick 3 in. under the circle so that the 
spinal column crosses the arm stick ex¬ 
actly in the center. Wrap tightly with 
strong thread and tack on the two 
sticks that are to serve for the legs and 
body. The leg sticks should be fast¬ 
ened to the arm stick about 6 in. on 
either side of the spinal column, and 
crossed so that the other ends are 3 ft. 
apart. Tack them and the arm stick 
together at the point where they inter¬ 
sect. Small hoops and cross stick of 
the same material as the head frame 
should be fastened to both extremities 
of the arm stick and the lower ends of 
the leg stick for the hands and feet. 
See that both hand frames are exactly 
alike and exercise equal caution regard¬ 
ing the foot frames; also see that the 
arm stick is at exact right angles with 
the spine stick and that the kite joints 
are all firmly tied and the kite evenly 


balanced; otherwise it may be lopsided. 
Fasten on the strings of the frame, be¬ 
ginning at the neck at equal distances 
from the spine, as indicated by the 
dotted lines in the diagram. Extend a 
string slantingly from the armstick to 
the head on both sides of the spinal 
column, and run all the other strings 
as shown in the cut, being careful that 
both sides of the frame correspond in 
measurements. 

To cover the kite, select different 
colors of paper to suit your taste, and 
after pasting them together, lay the 
paper on the floor and placing the 
frame on it, cut out the pattern. Leave 
an edge of % in. all around and make 
a slit in this edge every 6 in. and at 
each angle; make the slits 2 in. apart 
around the head. After the kite is 
pasted and dry, paint the buttons, hair, 
eyes, hands, feet, etc., as you desire. 
Arrange the “belly band” and tail band 
and attach the kite string in the same 
manner as in the ordinary coffin-shaped 
kite. 

The “lady kite” is made on the same 
principle as the boy kite. The frame 
may be made exactly as the boy kite 
and then “dressed” with tissue paper 
to represent a girl, or it may be made 
on the special frame, page 81. Remem¬ 
ber the dotted lines represent the 
strings or thread, and the other lines 
indicate the kite sticks. Be careful 
with your measurements so that each 
side of the kite corresponds exactly and 
is well balanced. Also see that every 
point where the sticks intersect is 
firmly tacked and bound. 

To cover the kite, first paste together 
pieces of tissue paper of different color 
to suit your taste. The paste should 
be made of flour and water and boiled. 
Make the seams or overlaps not quite 
% in. wide. Lay the paper on the floor, 
using weights to hold it down, and place 
the frame of the kite upon it. Then 
cut out the paper around the frame, 
leaving an edge of % in. Don’t forget 
to make a slit in the edge every 6 or 7 
in. and at each angle. Around the head 
the slits are cuf 2 in. apart, as in the 
case of the boy kite. After the kite is 






393 


dry, paint the paper as your fancy dic¬ 
tates. 

To make the breast band, punch holes 
through the paper, one upon each side 
of the leg sticks, just above the bottom, 
and one upon each side of the arm 
sticks at the shoulder. Run one end 
of the string through the hole at the 
bottom of the left limb and tie it to the 
leg stick; tie the other end at the right 
shoulder. Fasten one end of another 
string of the same length at the bot¬ 
tom of the right leg; pass the string up 
across the first band and tie the other 
end at the left shoulder. Attach the 
kite string to the breast band at the 
point where the two strings intersect. 
Tie the knot so that you can slide the 
kite string up or down until it is prop¬ 
erly adjusted. The tail band is made 
by tying a string to the leg sticks at 
the bottom of the breast band. Let the 
string hang slack below the skirt and 
attach the tail to the center. The same 
general rules apply in attaching the 
string and tail to the boy kite. 

You can make the lady look as if 
dancing and kicking in the clouds by 
making the feet of stiff pasteboard and 
allowing them to hang loose from the 
line which forms the bottom of the 
skirt. The feet will move and sway 
with each motion of the kite. 


How to Make Rubber Stamps 

India rubber, especially prepared for 
stamp-making, should be procured from 
a dealer or manufacturer, if good re¬ 
sults are to be obtained. As an experi¬ 
ment, it is possible for an amateur to 
prepare the rubber, but, in' such cases, 
it is always attended with uncertain 
results. The mixed uncured rubber 
comes in white sheets, strong, firm and 
about V 8 in. thick, and for its manipu¬ 
lation a press is indispensable, but can 
be home-made. 

For the base of the press use a piece 
of iron, having two holes drilled in it at 
the middle of opposite sides, through 
which pass bolts, letting the thread 
ends extend upward and counter-sink¬ 
ing places for the bolt heads to keep the 
under side of the base level. Solder 


the bolts in place at the base. The up¬ 
per part of the press, or the platen, is 
also of iron, cut so it can be swung 



off the bolts, rather than by removing 
the nuts and lifting it off. String a half 
dozen nuts, larger than those which 
screw on, on each bolt, so that when 
the upper nut on each is screwed tto the 
extent of the thread the pressure will 
be communicated through the nuts 
wedged in between the platen and the 
upper nut. The bolt holes in the platen 
should be directly over those in the 
base. Distance pieces of an exact thick¬ 
ness should be provided for use on the 
base; these serve to keep the pressure 
even. 

In preparing the mould, if type is to 
be copied, use rather large type with 
wide spaces and set up with high quads 
and spaces, or the type faces may be 
filled up by rubbing with either wax, 
or soap, lightly brushing off any that 
remains loose. The type so set should 
be locked into a frame. This may be 
made of two pieces of wood bolted to¬ 
gether at both ends, or of printer’s fur¬ 
niture. Place it on a flat surface (mar¬ 
ble is good, but any perfectly smooth 
surface will do) and place distance 
pieces % in. higher than its upper sur¬ 
face on either side of it. Apply olive 
oil to the type faces and wipe off any 
excess. To form the matrix or reverse 
of the model, take a piece of iron larger 
than the inscription to be copied,, and 
spread upon it to a depth of Vk i* 1 * a 
putty made by mixing plaster of paris 









394 


and water to the right consistency. By 
means of a table knife spread the plas¬ 
ter smoothly and then invert the plate 
upon the model and press down until 



Vulcanizing Press for Rubber Stamps 


the distance pieces are struck. Let it 
set 10 minutes and then remove. If 
care has been taken the matrix will be 
perfect. After it has thoroughly dried, 
preferably in an oven, saturate it with 
an alcoholic solution of shellac to 
strengthen it. 

Cut a piece of smooth rubber, large 
enough to cover the matrix, from the 
sheet, throw this into a box of talc, or 
powdered soapstone, so that it receives 
a coating on both sides; dust a little of 
the powder over the matrix, also. Place 
the press on a support over a gas burn¬ 
er, or a kerosene lamp, and apply the 
heat. Place the matrix on the base of 
the press, dust off the piece of india 
rubber and place in the press upon the 
matrix and screw down the platen. 
Heat the press to 284 deg. F. and keep 
screwing down the platen so that the 
rubber, now soft and putty-like, is 
forced into every recess of the matrix. 
A thermometer is not necessary; some 
rubber always protrudes and the stage 
of the process can be told from that. 
At first it is quite elastic, then as the 
heat increases it becomes soft, then the 
curing begins and it again becomes 
elastic, so that, if a point of a knife 
blade is pressed against it, it resumes 
its shape when the point is removed. 
When this takes place it is then thor¬ 
oughly vulcanized and the sheet can be 
removed from the matrix. Ten min¬ 


utes, under favorable conditions, is suf¬ 
ficient time for moulding the rubber. 
By means of common glue, or bicycle 
tire cement, fasten the rubber stamp to 
a wooden handle. 

It is possible to dispense with the 
press in making stamps, where the 
work is not done in quantities, and use 
a hot flat-iron. The matrix is placed 
on a stove at low heat, the rubber laid 
on and the hot iron applied. But a 
few moments are required to mould it. 

An old letter press if it be inclosed 
in a tin oven makes a good press, or 
all the necessary materials and appa¬ 
ratus can be purchased from a dealer. 
Any type such as all printers use will 
answer. 

To Light a Gaslight Without Matches 

It is probably well known that if you 
rub your feet briskly over a carpet on a 
dry, cold day and then touch any metal¬ 
lic object with your finger it will emit 
a small spark. 
The foil owing 
amusing experi¬ 
ment may be 
done on the same 
principle: 

Take any small 
piece of wire 
about 2 in. long 
and twist it 
around a gas- 
burner as shown 
at A in the 
sketch. Have the 
tip of the burner 
about % in. below the end of the wire. 
The wire must be just far enough away 
from the center of the burner to keep 
it out of the flame, or else it will melt. 

Now get a friend to turn on the gas 
when you are ready for it. Go around 
the room once or twice rubbing your 
feet along the carpet. When you come 
around to the gaslight touch the point 
of the wire and if the gas is turned on, 
the light will flare right up as if it had 
been lit with a match. 

This experiment cannot be done on a 
damp day or without shoes, and works 
best in cold weather.—Contributed by 
E. H. Klipstein. 



















395 


How To Make a Trap For Rabbits, 
Rats and Mice 

From an old 6-in. pine fence board 
cut off four pieces 2% ft. long and one 
6 in. square for the end of the trap and 
another 4 in. by 8 in. for the door. Use 
old boards, as new boards scare rab¬ 
bits. 

Figure 1 shows how the box is made. 
It should be 4 in. wide and 6 in. high 


2, and fasten its loop into the loop of 
the hammer. Mount the bell on a 
small board as in Fig. 3 and fasten the 
cogwheel almost on a line with it. Now 
press down the hammer and place a 
nail in the position shown in the dia¬ 
gram so that the catch touches one of 
the teeth. 

Fasten the board in an upright posi¬ 
tion and attach two dry batteries to the 
binding-posts. If properly connected, 



2. IN. 



on the inside. The top and bottom 
boards project 1 in. beyond the side 
boards at the back and the end board is 
set in. The top board should be 2 in. 
shorter than the sides at the front. Nail 
a strip on the top board back of the door 
and one on the bottom board so the 
game cannot push the door open from 
inside the trap and get out. 

In the middle of the top board bore 
a hole and put a crotched stick in for 
the lever to rest on. Bore another hole 
in the top of the door for the lever to 
pass through. Two inches from the 
back of the box bore a hole for the 
trigger, which should be made out of 
heavy wire in the manner shown in 
Fig. 2. The door of the trap must work 
easily and loosely. 


Novel Electric Motor 

The materials necessary to make this 
motor are an old electric bell of the 
“buzzer” type and a cogwheel from an 
old clock. 

Remove the hammer-head and gong 
from the bell, then bend the end of 
the hammer into a loop, as in Fig. 1. 
Now make a little wire catch like Fig. 


the fly-wheel will turn quite rapidly 
and with amazing force for so small a 
machine. The machine, however, has 
a fixed direction as shown by the arrow, 
but the belting can be arranged so as 
to send the models in a reversed direc¬ 
tion if required. The materials for 
the motor should not cost more than 



25c for the bell and if you have an old 
bell it will cost next to nothing.—Con¬ 
tributed by Fred C. Curry, Brockville, 
Ontario. 



























396 


How to Print Photographs on Silk 


Silk, satin or any other fine material 
can be used to make photographic 
prints, but the most attractive results 
for the amateur are obtained on silk, 
the best color for this purpose being 
either cream or white, says Photog¬ 
raphy. The chemicals required are 
only four in number, and a compara¬ 
tively small amount of each will suf¬ 
fice, so that the process can be tried 
without any very great outlay. 

A dram of dextrine is mixed with 2 
oz. of water and allowed to dissolve. 
It is then made up to 4 oz. with boil¬ 
ing water, and, when cold, a solution 
of 1 dr. of ammonium chloride in 2 oz. 
of water is added. As this mixture 
does not keep well, it should be 
used as soon as possible after being 
made up. 

The silk is soaked in the liquid until 
it is thoroughly saturated, which should 
take about four or five minutes, and 
it is then hung up to dry, suspending 
it, tightly stretched, from its two top 
corners. The fabric when “salted,” 
as this operation is termed, will keep 
indefinitely. All these operations can 
be done in daylight. 

The next stage is the application of 
the sensitizer, for which purpose the 
two following solutions must be made 
up and then mixed: 


Silver nitrate-. 120 gr. 

Water. 1 oz. 

Citric acid. 50 gr. 

Water. 1 oz. 


The mixture is spread evenly over 
the silk with a soft camel’s-hair brush. 
There must be no metal in the mount¬ 
ing of the brush that is used. 

Particular care must be taken to see 
that no particle of the surface of the 
silk is left uncovered. The best way 
to insure this is to brush the liquid 
over the silk, first in one direction and 
then crosswise. The process of sen¬ 
sitizing must be done in a weak arti¬ 
ficial light, such as at night by ordinary 
gas or lamp light, or in the very feeblest 
daylight. 

The silk is then again fastened up 
and allowed to dry, but it is now sen¬ 


sitive to the light and the drying must 
therefore be done in the dark. It is 
ready for printing as soon as it is dry, 
and as it does not keep well in the 
sensitive condition, it should be used 
up within a few days at the most. 

The printing, which is done in day¬ 
light, is carried on in the same way as 
for printing-out papers, except that the 
silk should be printed a little darker 
than usual. It will be found con¬ 
venient to gum the edges slightly, and 
then to fix the silk on a stiff piece of 
paper before putting it into the print¬ 
ing frame. If this precaution is not 
adopted there is a tendency for the silk 
to slip or crease when it is being ex¬ 
amined. The silk must be handled 
carefully while in the printing frame 
for this reason, but apart from that, 
there is no particular difficulty. The 
paper can be taken off when the print¬ 
ing is finished. 

Prints on silk are toned, fixed and 
washed in the same way as ordinary 
silver prints. The washing should be 
thorough, and before the prints are 
quite dry, they should be ironed to re¬ 
move all creases. 


Removing Old Paint 

A chair more than a hundred years 
old came to me by inheritance. It was 
originally painted green and had been 
given two coats of dark paint or var¬ 
nish within the last 30 years. Desiring 
to improve the appearance of the relic, 
I decided to remove the paint and give 
it a mahogany stain. The usual paint 
removers would readily take off the 
two latter coats but had no effect upon 
the first. I tried to remove the trouble¬ 
some green in various ways, but with 
little success until I applied a hot, sat¬ 
urated solution of concentrated lye. 
By coating the paint with this repeat¬ 
edly, applying one coat upon another 
for two days, and then using a stiff 
brush, the layer was easily and com¬ 
pletely removed.—Contributed by 
Thos. R. Baker, Chicago, Ill. 







397 


A Window Lock 

Bore a hole through the sash of the 
lower window and halfway through 
the sash of the upper window, where 
they meet in the center, and insert a 


one of the tube projections cut off from 
each to make a hook, as shown in Fig. 
2. The piece marked E shows one of 
these forgings or hooks in section. The 
original axle of the bicycle was re¬ 
moved and one lj% in. longer supplied, 



Fig. 1—Trailer Attached to a Bicycle 


heavy nail or spike. This will fasten 
the sash together so well that nothing 
short of a crowbar can pry them apart. 
The nail can be easily removed when 
the windows are to be opened. 


Homemade Magnifying Glass 

A very good magnifying glass can 
be made from an ordinary incandescent 
lamp of about 16-cp. size which has 
been rendered useless by being burned 
out or having the filament broken. 
Grind or break off the tip end of the 
globe and fill with water. Put in clear 
water and plug or cork up the hole. 


Trailer for a Bicycle 

Instead of using a seat on the han¬ 
dlebars or frame of a bicycle for my 
little girl, I made a trailer, as shown in 
Fig. 1, to attach to the rear axle. I 
made it from old bicycle parts. The 
handlebars, which form the back of 
the seat, fasten into the seat post of 
an old bicycle attached to the trailer 
axle. The trailer is attached to the 
rear axle of the bicycle with two arms 
or forks, on the ends of which are two 
forgings, formerly used on the rear 
ends of a bicycle frame, brazed in, and 


which was turned below the threads 
for clearance, as shown at A. A 
washer, D, with a hexagon hole was 
fitted over the regular nut C, on the 
axle, and filed tapering so the forging 
or hook E, on the trailer attachment, 
could be kept in position. The washer 
F is held tightly against the hook by 
pressure from a spring, G. The spring 
is held in place by a small nut, H, and 
cotter pin, I. This attachment makes 
a flexible joint for turning corners. 
When turning from right to left the 
left hook on the trailer fork stays in 


C How Trailer is Hooked,,,., 

T h j to Bicycle 




Fig. 2—The Hook in Position 


position, while the right hook pushes 
the washer F outward and relieves the 
strain on the fork. This attachment 
also makes it easy to remove the 
trailer from the bicycle. The washers 
F are pushed outward and the hook 
raised off the axle.—Contributed by 
John F. Grieves, Providence, R. I. 














398 


Home-Made Telephone Transmitter 

The parts for transmitting the sound 
are encased in a covering, H, made 
from the gong of an old* electric bell. 
A round button, D, is turned or filed 
from the carbon electrode of an old 
dry cell and a 
hole drilled 
through the 
center to fit in 
a binding-post 
taken from the 
same battery 
cell. This but¬ 
ton must be 
carefully insu¬ 
lated from the 
shell, H, by running the binding-post 
through a piece of small rubber tube 
where it passes through the hole and 
placing a rubber or paper washer, F, 
under the carbon button, and an in¬ 
sulating washer under the nut on the 
outside. This will provide one of the 
terminals of the instrument. Con¬ 
struct a paper tube having the same 
diameter as the button and with a 
length equal to the depth of the bell 
case, less % in. Glue or paste this 
tube to the button so it will form a 
paper cup with a carbon bottom. 

The diaphragm, B, which is the es¬ 
sential part of the instrument, should 
be made as carefully as possible from 
ferrotype tin, commonly called tintype 
tin. Cut a circular piece from this 
metal the exact size of the outside of 
the shell. A hole is made in the center 
of the disk a little larger than a bind¬ 
ing-post that is taken from another old 
battery cell. When making the hole 
in the disk be careful not to bend or 
crease the tin. Scrape the black coating 
from the tin around the outside about 
% in* wide and a place about 1 in. in 
diameter at the center. 

The second electrode, C, is made the 
same as D, and fastened to the tin dia¬ 
phragm with the binding-post without 
using any insulation. A third binding- 
post, G, is fastened to the shell through 
a drilled hole to make the other ter¬ 
minal. The mouthpiece, A, may be 
turned from wood in any shape de¬ 
sired, but have a flange on the back 


side that will make a tight fit with the 
outside of the shell. 

Fill the paper tube with powdered 
carbon, E, which can be made by 
pounding and breaking up pieces of 
carbon to about the size of pin heads. 
Powdered carbon can be purchased, 
but if you make it be sure to sift out 
all the very fine particles. Assemble 
the parts as shown and the transmitter 
is ready for use. If speech is not heard 
distinctly, put in a little more, or re¬ 
move some of the carbon and try it 
out until you get the instrument work¬ 
ing nicely.—Contributed by Harold H. 
Cutter, Springfield, Mass. 


Quickly Made Lawn Tent 

A very simple way of erecting a 
lawn tent for the children is to take a 
large umbrella such as used on de¬ 
livery wagons and drive the handle 
into the ground deep enough to hold 
it solid. Fasten canvas or cotton cloth 
to the ends of the ribs and let it hang 
so that the bottom edge will touch 
the ground. Light ropes can be tied 
to the ends of the ribs and fastened 
to stakes driven in the ground in a 
tent-like manner to make the whole 
more substantial and to stand against 
a heavy wind. This makes an ex¬ 
ceptionally fine tent, as .the umbrella 



Lawn Tent Complete 


is waterproof; also, there is more 
room to stand up in than in a tent that 
is in the shape of a wigwam.—Con¬ 
tributed by J. A. Whamer, Schenec¬ 
tady, N. Y. 














400 


piece H rests in the tin rim. The X- 
form, however, does not show in this 
sketch, but in Fig. 5, where it is marked 
S. This part is made of two pieces of 


T1 

t —? 


fll" 

—1 

2J 


G r*4 

u* 



2-in. plank, about 3 in. wide, arranged 
so that the two pieces cross to make a 
letter X. When the pieces join, mor¬ 
tise them one into the other so as tq 
secure a good joint. Adjust the up¬ 
rights for sustaining the wheel shaft to 
the X-pieces as shown at E, E, Fig. 2. 
These are 4 by 4 in. pieces of wood, 
hard pine preferred, planed and securely 
set up in the X-pieces by mortising into 
the same. Make the bearings for the 



wheel shaft in the uprights and insert 
the shaft. 

The gearing for the transmission of 
the power from the wheel shaft to the 
shaft calculated for the delivery of the 
power at an accessible point below must 
next be adjusted. The windmill is in¬ 
tended for installation on top of a build¬ 
ing, and the power may be transmitted 
below, or to the top of a stand specially 
erected for the purpose. It is a good 
plan to visit some of the second-hand 
machinery dealers and get four gears, 
a pulley and a shaft. Gears about 5 in. 
in diameter and beveled will be re¬ 
quired. Adjust the first pair of the 
beveled gears as at F and G. If the 
wheel shaft is metal, the gear may be 
set-screwed to the shaft, or keyed to 
it. If the shaft is hardwood, it will be 
necessary to arrange for a special con¬ 
nection. The shaft may be wrapped 


with sheet metal and this metal fas¬ 
tened on with screws. Then the gear 
may be attached by passing a pin 
through the set-screw hole and through 
the shaft. The upright shaft like the 
wheel shaft is best when of metal. 
This shaft is shown extending from the 
gear, G, to a point below. The object 
is to have the shaft reach to the point 
where the power is received for the 
service below. The shaft is shown cut 
off at K. Passing to Fig. 3 the shaft is 
again taken up at L. It now passes 
through the arrangement shown, which 
device is rigged up to hold the shaft 
and delivery wheel P in place. This 
shaft should also be metal. Secure the 
beveled gears M and N as shown. 
These transmit the power from the up¬ 
right shaft to the lower horizontal 
shaft. Provide the wheel or pulley, P, 
with the necessary belt to carry the 
power from this shaft to the point of 
use. 

The tail board of the windmill is il¬ 
lustrated in Fig. 4. A good way to 
make this board is to use a section of 
thin lumber and attach it to the rear 
upright, E of Fig. 2. This may be 
done by boring a hole in the upright 
and inserting the shaft of the tail-piece. 
In Fig. 4 is also shown the process of 
fastening a gear, R, to the shaft. The 
set screws enter the hub from the two 
sides and the points are pressed upon 



wheel device is shown in Fig. 5. The 
























































399 


How to Make a Windmill of One or Two Horsepower 
for Practical Purposes 


A windmill for developing from 
to 2 hp. may be constructed at home, 
the expense being very small and the 
results highly satisfactory. 

The hub for the revolving fan wheel 
is first constructed. One good way to 
get both the hub, lining, shaft and 
spokes for the blades, is to go to a 
wheelwright’s and purchase the wheel 
and axle of some old rig. There are 
always a number of discarded carriages, 
wagons or parts thereof in the rear of 
the average blacksmith’s shop. Some¬ 
times for half a dollar, and often for 
nothing, you can get a wheel, an axle, 
and connected parts. Remove from the 
wheel, all but the four spokes needed 
for the fans as in Fig. 1. The same hub, 
axle and bearings will do. In case you 
cannot secure a wheel and shaft, the 
hub may be made from a piece of hard¬ 
wood, about 4 in. in diameter and 6 in. 
long. A 2-in. hole should be bored 
through for a wooden shaft, or a 1%-in. 
hole for a metal shaft. The hub may 
be secured by putting two or three 
metal pins through hub and shaft. Ad¬ 
just the spokes by boring holes for them 
and arrange them so that they extend 
from the center A, like B. The wheel 
is then ready for the blades. These 



blades should be of sheet metal or thin 
hardwood. The sizes may vary accord¬ 
ing to the capacity of the wheel and 
amount of room for the blades on the 
spokes. Each one is tilted so as to 


receive the force of the wind at an an¬ 
gle, which adjustment causes the wheel 
to revolve when the wind pressure is 



strong enough. Secure the blades to 
the spokes by using little metal cleats, 
C and D. Bend these metal strips to 
suit the form of the spokes and flatten 
against the blades and then insert the 
screws to fasten the cleats to the wood. 
If sheet metal blades are used, rivets 
should be used for fastening them. 

The stand for the wheel shaft is 
shown in Fig. 2. Arrange the base 
piece in platform order, (J). This is 
more fully shown in Fig. 5. On top of 
this base piece, which is about 36 in. 
long, place the seat or ring for the re¬ 
volving table. The circular seat is in¬ 
dicated at I, Fig. 1. This ring is like 
an inverted cheese box cover with the 
center cut out. It can be made by a 
tinner. Size of ring outside, 35 in. The 
shoulders are 4 in. high and made of 
tin also. Form the shoulder by solder¬ 
ing the piece on. Thus we get a smooth 
surface with sides for the mill base to 
turn in so as to receive the wind at each 
point to advantage. The X-shaped 

















































401 


X-piece S is bored through in the mid¬ 
dle and the upright shaft passes 
through. The tin run-way or ring is 
marked T, and the X-piece very readily 
revolves in this ring, whenever the 
wind alters and causes the wheel's 
position to change. The ring and ring 
base are secured to the platform, U. 
The latter is made of boards nailed to 
the timbers of the staging for support¬ 
ing the mill. This staging is shown in 
Fig. 6, in a sectional view. The ring 
with its X-piece is marked V, the X- 
piece is marked W, and the base for 
the part, and the top of the stage is 
marked X. The stage is made of 2 by 
4-in. stock. The height may vary, ac¬ 
cording to the requirements. If the 
affair is set up on a barn or shed, the 
staging will be sufficient to support the 
device. But if the stage is constructed 
direct from the ground, it will be nec¬ 
essary to use some long timbers to get 
the wheel up high enough to receive 
the benefit of the force of the wind. 
Proceeding on the plan of the derrick 
stand, as shown in Fig. 6, a stage of 
considerable height can be obtained. 


To Renew Old Dry Batteries 

Remove the paper that covers the cell 
and knock several good-sized holes in 
the zinc shell. Place the battery in a 
glass jar, fill it two-thirds full of strong 
sal ammoniac (or salt) solution and 
connect the terminals to whatever ap¬ 
paratus the current is to be used for. 
A few drops of sulphuric acid quickens 
and improves the action. The output 
of the cell will be nearly as great as 
when the battery was first bought.— 
Contributed by C. W. Arbitt, Austin, 
Texas. 


Prussian blue and Chinese blue are 
both the same chemically but they do 
not cut or look the same. 


When an acetylene lamp is in good 
order it will light up slowly with a 
hissing noise followed by a pure white 
flame. Should the lamp light up quickly 
with a yellowish flame, it is a sign of 
a leak somewhere. 


Another Electric Motor 

This form of electric motor is used 
largely in England in the form of an 
indicator. It is very easily made and 



if you have an old electro-magnet will 
cost practically nothing. 

A large soft-iron wheel is mounted on 
an axle with a pulley-wheel on one end 
and a circuit breaker on the other end. 
The teeth on the circuit-breaker must 
be the same number as on the soft-iron 
wheel. 

The electro-magnet is mounted so 
that its core is level with the axle and 
in a line with the wheel. One wire 
from it is attached to one binding screw 
and the other end is grounded to the 
iron frame that supports it. This 
frame is connected to the frame sup¬ 
porting the wheel. A small brush 
presses on the circuit-breaker and is 
connected to the other binding screw. 

In the diagram A represents the iron 
wheel; B, the brush; C, the circuit- 
breaker; D, the magnet. The wire 
connecting the two frames is shown 
by a dotted line. 

To start the motor, attach your bat¬ 
tery to the screws and turn the wheel 
a little. The magnet attracts one of 
the teeth on the wheel, but as soon as 
it is parallel with the core of the mag¬ 
net the circuit is broken and the mo¬ 
mentum of the wheel brings another 
tooth to be attracted. 

To reverse the motor reverse the con¬ 
nections and start the wheel the other 
way. Be sure that the frames are 
screwed down well or the motor will 
run jerkily and destroy the connec¬ 
tions.—Contributed by F. Crawford 
Curry, Brockville, Ontario. 
































402 


How to Make a Propelling Vehicle 



Tig I 


Any boy, with a little knack and a 
few odd tools, can rig up various con¬ 
trivances which will be a source of 
pleasure to himself and oftentimes can 
be sold, to 
less inge¬ 
nious boys, 
for a snug lit¬ 
tle sum. Any 
tool a boy 
can obtain is 
apt to be of 
use to him, 

chisel, bit, jack-knife or hammer. 

Figure 1 shows what two boys did 
with old cycle wheels. They went to 
some junk shops where the concerns 
had purchased cast-away bicycles and 
noticed that there were numerous 
wheels in very good order that could 
be selected from among the sets of 
wheels with broken or bent rims, 
spokes, burst tires, etc. In fact, the 
lads had no trouble in getting several 
sets of bicycle wheels in good condition 
for very little money. These wheels 
were taken to the back-yard shop of 
the boys where the young fellows had 
rigged up a shed-like affair and put in a 
bench. The previous Christmas one of 
the boys received a box of tools as a 
gift, in which was included a little hand 
vise and the required tools for general 
boy’s h a n d i- 
work. 

Four of the 
cycle wheels 
they used in 
making the 
hand - propelled 
vehicle shown 
at Fig. 1. 

A wooden 
body, A, made 
of smooth 
boards rests 
upon shafts. 

Fixed on this 
body is an upright carrying the sprocket 
B. The upright is a piece of wood about 
10 in. high and 4 in. wide, fitted with 
one of the bearings from the cycle. The 
regular cycle chain sprocket is used at 



B as well as upon the shaft. The regular 
chain of the cycle is likewise employed, 
so, when buying the wheels, it is well 
to select one or more chains with cor¬ 
responding sprockets from the junk 
heap. The detail of the adjustment of 
the parts is shown in next views. The 
letter D signifies the seat which is a 
box. The steering gear is a bent iron 
rod, also found in the waste pile of the 
junk shop, and is bent to right form 
by heating and bending over on a rock 
or any solid matter. The steering rod 
is marked E. It fits into a socket in 
the shaft of the forward wheels. 

Figure 2 shows the construction of 
the cart below. The cog is keyed or 
set-screwed to the driving shaft of the 
wheels with either key or set-screw 
used in original fastening, as the case 



Fig.4 

Driving Shaft and Disk for Steering Gear 

may be. The chain is marked F, and 
there is a slot cut in the floor of the 
cart to let the chain pass up and 
through to the cog on the propelling 
shaft crank. The disk which receives 
the steering rod is at G. The forward 
shaft bears only at the center upon a 
disk of metal, consisting of any circular 
piece found among the pieces of iron 
or brass at the junk store. One can 
get nearly all the mechanical parts in 
junk establishments that purchase 
parts of out-of-date or cast-away bicy¬ 
cles. The detail of the driving shaft is 
shown at Fig. 3. The sprocket wheel 
is at H and this is just as it is taken 
from the original bicycle shaft. The 
bearings consist of wires looped around 
the shaft and inserted into holes bored 
in metal plates as shown. These plates 
are screwed to the bottom of the cart. 









































403 


The shaft itself is found in rods or even 
cast-away metal axles which are com¬ 
monly found in most any carriage 
works, cycle shops or junk dealer’s. 
Figure 4 shows the disk that receives 
the steering gear. The disk is bored 
around edges for the securing screws, 
while the center is open for the steer¬ 
ing rod. When put together, three 
boys usually ride. One steers and the 
other two turn the crank. Freight can 
be carried and some boys do quite an 
express business in their town with one 
of the carts like this that they made. 

Ringing a Bell by Touching a Gas Jet 

The experiment of scuffling the feet 
over a carpet and then producing a 
spark which will light the gas by touch¬ 
ing the chandelier is described on an¬ 
other page. One of our correspondents 
says that if a wire is connected to the 
chandelier and led to one terminal of 
the coherer of a wireless telegraph out¬ 
fit the bell will ring every time the 



spark is produced by touching the 
chandelier, and that, as the chandeliers 
are all connected by the gas-pipe, the 
bell will ring, no matter in which room 
the spark is produced. 

The covering quality will be greatly 
improved if some dry red lead is added 
to the shellac varnish used for killing 
knots. 


How to Make a Wood-Turning Lathe 
Out of an Old Sewing Machine 

With a hack-saw, cut off the arm 
containing the needle on line AB, Fig. 
1, leaving the shaft only. On the end 
of the shaft will be found a round plate, 



in which drill four 3/16-in. holes. Now 
secure, or have turned, a piece of iron 
or steel 1% in. in diameter, Fig. 2. 
Drill and countersink four 3/16-in. 
holes in it to fit the holes on the shaft 
plate. File a spur center 5/16 in. long, 
and two side points 3/16 in. long. Bolt 
this plate to the shaft plate with four 
flat-headed stove bolts, 3/16 in. in di¬ 
ameter by % or % in. long, Fig. 3. 

For the bed, use a board 32 in. long 
and as wide as the base of the machine 
arm. This gives a limit of 2 ft. be¬ 
tween spur and dead centers. Let this 
board be made level with the rest of 
machine table by making a pair of legs 
if needed. Next make a T-rail, Fig. 4, 
of two boards, one 5 by % by 32 in., 
the other 3 x /2 by % by 32 in. Three- 
quarter inch of the wider board pro¬ 
jects over each of the smaller boards. 
Nail firmly and clinch nails, or screw 
together. Screw this rail on the ma¬ 
chine board so that its center coincides 
exactly with the machine centers. Bore 
a number of %-in. holes with centers 
2% in. apart along the center line of 
this rail, beginning 6 in. from the end 
nearest the machine. Make another 
T-rail for slide tool rest, of two pieces 
32 by 3 by % in., and 32 by 1 % by % 
in. Fasten this in front of the larger 
T-rail and parallel to it, the center 
lines being 6% in. apart. 

To make the tail-piece, that is, the 
part to hold wood to be turned, get a 
board 6% by 7 by % in., and on the 
edges, Fig. 5, A, screw two pieces 7 
by % by 1% in. so that the cap thus 



















404 


made will fit snugly over the large T- threaded to fit the crank, on the head- 
rail. Fasten to these last two pieces, end of the crank block, and a plain nut 


^ Spur Center End v/few_ 






T raU *> 1 

KlG.4 

| T-roil 1 


1 1 


1 1 

Front 


with screws, two more pieces 7 by % by 
% in., Fig. 5, B. This tail-piece should 
move smoothly back and forth with 
no side motion. Now get a block of 
hardwood 4 
by % X A 
and 1% in. 
higher than 
the spur cen- 
t e r when 
mounted on 
the middle 
of the tail¬ 
piece just de¬ 
scribed. At 
exactly the 
height of the 
spur center 
bore through 
this block a 
%-in. hole, 
Fig. 5. Have 
a blacksmith make a crank 8 in. long, 
threaded for 5 in. as shown. At the 
dead center end taper the crank and 
make a cup center, out of which allow 
a 3/16-in. point to project. The cup 
prevents the point from boring into 


to act as a bearing, on the crank end. 
One and one-half inches from the back 
of the tail-piece bore a %-in. hole. 
Make a peg % by 2 in. To put in a 
piece of wood to turn, move the tail¬ 
piece back until the head end is over 
the center of the hole nearest the end 
of the block, then the peg will slip into 1 ' 
second hole from the head end of the 
tail-piece, and into a corresponding T- 
rail hole, pinning the two together. In¬ 
sert wood and screw up dead center to 
hold it. 

For a tool rest make a second piece 
like the base of the tail-piece, 11 in. 
long and fitting the small T-rail. Cut 
out two blocks iy 2 by 2% by % in. and 
screw them, one on each end of the 
base of the tool rest, covering the half 
farthest from the centers, and having 
an 8-in. space between blocks. On the 
tops of these blocks screw a strip 11 by 
2% by % in. Now for the rest proper, 
cut out a board 8 by 11/16 by 9 in. to 
slide in the slot of the rest. Take a 
piece of oak 11 by 2 in., and high 
enough so that the top will be level 
with the centers of the lathe, and bevel 




Spur 



wood too rapidly. One inch from the 
outer end of the crank block, Fig. 5, 
bore a 3/16-in. hole, and force a ^-in. 
bolt to cut its thread in the wood. This 
is a set screw to hold the crank in any 
position desired. Place a strap nut, 


as shown in Fig. 6. Screw on one end 
of the 8 by 9-in. piece exactly in the 
middle. This piece will slide in and 
out, closer or farther from the centers 
as desired, and also along the T-rail. 

A center for turning rosettes, saucers, 



































405 


etc., may be made as follows: Remove 
the spur center and bolt in its place a 
1-in. circular board of the same diame- 


and 4. Hold the brass strips apart by 
means of the hard rubber strip and 
screws. Do not let the screws come 



ter, using longer 3/16-in. stove bolts 
with heads countersunk. Rotate the 
lathe, and with a gimlet bore a hole at 
the exact center and through the board. 
Now take off the board and counter¬ 
sink on the back a place for the head 
of a coarse threaded screw. Turn in 
a 1%-in. screw, replace the board and 
any block held on the end of the rota¬ 
ting screw will turn on and be held 
while being turned.—Contributed by 
L. L. Winans, Mexico, Mo. 


Reversing Small Battery Motor 

Make the switch out of a piece of 
slate (for the base) two strips of brass, 
a rubber strip and handle and some 
binding-posts from old dry batteries. 
Fasten the brass strips at 5 and 6, Fig. 
1, so they can swing from 1 and 3 to 2 


all the way through the rubber strip 
or you are liable to get a shock in case 
you should touch both screws simul¬ 
taneously. Screw a rubber handle onto 
the rubber strip to move the lever back 
and forth with. Fig. 2 shows the ar¬ 
rangement of strips, handle, screws, 
etc., in detail. Fig. 3 is an end view 
of the same.—Contributed by Eugene 
F. Tuttle, Jr., Newark, Ohio. 


Bronze bearings may be cleaned with 


a solution of washing powder and 
water run through the oil cups while 
the machine is running without any 
load. The solution, cutting out the dirt 
and grime, will come from the bearing 
very black. About 1 pt. of this mixture 
should be run through each bearing, 
then clean thoroughly with clear water. 









































































406 


A Water Candlestick 

A glass of water makes a fine emer¬ 
gency candlestick. Weight one end of 



Plan of Magazine Binder 


the candle with a nail just large enough 
to hold the candle in the water so that 
the water comes near its top edge, but 
does not touch the wick, and then light 
the candle. 

It will burn until the last vestige of 
wick is gone and the flame will not 
flicker. The melted tallow that runs 
down but serves to hold the candle 
more stationary. 


To Make a Magazine Binder 

Get % yd* of cloth, one shoestring, a 
pasteboard box for covers, and some 
heavy paper. 
Cut the paste¬ 
board into two 
c o v e rs, % in. 
larger all 
around than the 
magazine, e x- 
cept at the back 
w i I h which 
they should be 
even. Next cut 
a strip 1 in. 
wide off the 
back of each 
cover. Place 
the covers on 
the cloth, Fig. 
1, with the back 
edges % in. far¬ 
thickness of the 
Cut the cloth 



F.G 2 

Magazine Binder Complete 

How to File Soft Metals 

When filing soft metals, such as 
solder or babbitt metal, the file, after a 
few strokes, will become filled with 
metal, causing scratches on the surface 
being filed. The surface may be filed 
smooth, provided the file has been well 
oiled. The oil prevents the cutters 
from clogging and also allows the metal 
to yield easily. Oil the file every few 
minutes and use a card frequently in 
cleaning and the work will be smooth. 
—Contributed by Jno. E. Ganaway, 
Paducah, Ky. 


ther apart than the 
volume to be bound, 
around the covers, leaving 1% i n * mar¬ 
gin. Paste the cloth on the covers as 
they lay, and turn over the l 1 /^ i n * mar¬ 
gin, pasting down smoothly. Cut a 
piece of stiff paper to fit and paste on 
the back. Take a piece of cloth as 
wide as the cover, and- long enough to 
extend over the back and 1% in. t> e ' 
yond each “strip.” 
Paste on to hold all 
together. Two pieces 
of paper the exact size 
of the magazine, 
pasted on the inside of 
each cover protects 
the edges of the cloth, 
and adds to the appearance. Let dry 
slowly. 

With backs and edges of magazines 
even, place in a vise and set up tight 
allowing % in. from back to show above 
the vise. Bore three 3/16-in. holes % 
in. from the back, one in the middle, 
the other two 1% in. from each end. 
Make corresponding holes in the strips 
of the binder and use the shoestring to 
complete as in Fig. 2. 


A piece of wire solder makes a good 
temporary spline for the draftsman. 
























407 


A Library Set in Pyro-Carving 

By HELEN WESTINGHOUSE 


The multitude of indifferently ex¬ 
ecuted small articles which followed 
the introduction of pyrography is be¬ 
ginning to disappear. People are con¬ 
sidering the art more seriously and 


lief. It is then burned deeply, the 
background in straight flat strokes, the 
outlines having the effect of a sloping, 
dark edge. The shadows are burned 
in as deeply as possible and the shad- 



Table and Seat Decorated in Pyro-Carving 


applying it to more dignified uses. 
Pyro-carving is one of the new meth¬ 
ods of decorating furniture which is 
both beautiful and practical, two quali¬ 
ties. which do not always go together. 

The library set illustrated consists of 
a table, 30 to 50 in., with two benches, 
14 in. wide, of the same length. The 
supports are made of selected white 
pine, which must be absolutely free 
from pitch. The pine is soft enough to 
work easily with the point and stands 
wear much better than basswood. The 
tops and braces are made of curly fir. 
All of the material must be 2-in. lum¬ 
ber, which dresses to about 1% in. 
All surfaces, except the faces of the 
supports, are given a well rubbed coat 
of oil with a little burnt umber, the 
stain to be applied directly to the wood 
without a filler. 

On the outside of the supports the 
design is drawn in with pencil, the 
background is then cut out smoothly 
with a chisel to the depth of an eighth 
of an inch, leaving the decoration in re- 


ing is put in with the flat of the point. 

A wax or eggshell oil-varnish finish 
is most suitable for this set, but any 
other finish may be applied, as the 
builder may desire, to make it har¬ 
monize with other furnishings. 


Cleaning Brass 

Small brass castings can be cleaned 
by heating them slightly and then dip¬ 
ping them in a solution of sal ammo¬ 
niac. The pieces will come out as 
bright and clean as if new. This clean¬ 
ing process is the same as that used in 
cleaning a soldering iron. 


A Phoneidoscope 

The phoneidoscope has many and 
varied forms, but the simplest can be 
made by bending the forefinger and 
thumb so as to form a circle and then 
drawing a soap film across the opening. 
This is done in a manner similar to the 
blowing of soap bubbles. 






408 


The angle with the direction of the light 
may be readily adjusted by turning the 
wrist, a motion of the elbow alters the 
distance from the mouth and the ten¬ 
sion of the film can be regulated by 
moving the thumb and forefinger. 
Singing or speaking at the film when 
under proper tension will cause beauti¬ 
ful figures to appear, which may be re¬ 
flected from the film directly on the 
screen.—Contributed by Robt. E. Brad¬ 
ley, Winchester, Mass. 


A Home-Made Yankee Bobsled 


A good coasting sled, which I call a 
Yankee bob, can be made from two 
hardwood barrel staves, two pieces of 



2 by 6-in. pine, a piece of hardwood for 
the rudder and a few pieces of boards. 
The 2 by 6-in. pieces should be a little 
longer than one-third the length of the 
staves, and each piece cut tapering 
from the widest part, 6 in., down to 2 
in., and then fastened to the staves with 
large wood screws as shown in Fig. 1. 
Boards 1 in. thick are nailed on top of 
the pieces for a seat and to hold the 
runners together. The boards should 
be of such a length as to make the run¬ 
ners about 18 in. apart. 

A 2-in. shaft of wood, Fig. 2, is 
turned down to 1 in. on the ends and 
put through holes that must be bored 
in the front ends of the 2 by 6-in, 


pieces. A small pin is put through 
each end of the shaft to keep it in place. 
The rudder is a 1%-in. hardwood piece 
which should be tapered to % in. at the 
bottom and shod with a thin piece of 
iron. A %-in. hole is bored through 
the center of the shaft and a lag screw 
put through and turned in the rudder 
piece, making it so the rudder will turn 
right and left and, also, up and down. 
Two cleats are nailed to the upper sides 
of the runners and in the middle 
lengthways for the person’s heels to 
rest against. 

Any child can guide this bob, as all 
he has to do is to guide the rudder 
right and left to go in the direction 
named. If he wants to stop, he pulls 
up on the handle and the heel of the 
rudder will dig into the snow, causing 
too much friction for the sled to go any 
further.—Contributed by Wm. Algie, 
Jr., Little Falls, N. Y. 


How to Make a Small Microscope 

Theoretically a simple microscope 
can be made as powerful as a com¬ 
pound microscope, but in practice the 
minute size required by the simple lens 
to give the highest power makes it al¬ 
most impossible to be used. Howevef, 
a lens having a reasonable magnifying 
power can be made in a few minutes for 
almost nothing. Take a piece of glass 
tubing, heat one place in a hot flame, 
hold one end and pull on the other and 
draw the heated place down to a fine 
string as shown in Fig. 1. Take about 
3 in. of this fine tube and heat one end 
which will form a glass bead as shown 
in Fig. 2. This bead is the lens. When 
in this form it can be used only in an 
artificial light coming from one direc¬ 
tion, but if you take a piece of card¬ 



F.g 3 


Lens Formed by Heat 

board and bore a hole in it a little 
smaller than the bead on the glass tube 
which is forced into the hole, Fig, 3, 







































































409 


you can use this mounted lens in or¬ 
dinary daylight. In this case a mirror 
must be used to reflect the light up 
through the lens. It is difficult to see 
anything at first, as the lens must be 
held very close to the eye, but in prac¬ 
tice you will soon learn to see the ob¬ 
ject as it appears enlarged. 

If you soak a little dried grass or 
hay in water for a few days and look 
at a drop of this water, germs in vari¬ 
ous life forms can be seen. The water 
must be put on the lens. One thing to 
remember is that the smaller the lens, 
the greater the magnifying power.— 
Contributed by Daniel Gray, Decatur, 
Illinois. 


The water in hot water supply pipes 
will freeze quicker than water that 
has not been heated. This is because 
the air, which is a poor conductor of 
heat, has been driven out by the heat. 


How to Carry Books 

Almost all school children carry their 
books with a strap put around and 
buckled very 
tight. This will 
make dents i n 
the cover where 
the board over¬ 
laps the body of 
the book. If the 
strap is left 
loose, the books 
are liable to slip 
out. Place the 
cover of one book between the cover 
and fly leaf of its neighbor and the 
difficulty will be remedied. This will 
place the books in alternate directions. 
Books stacked in this manner do not 
require the strap buckled tight, or, 
they can be carried without any strap 
just as well.—Contributed by Thos. De 
Loof, Grand Rapids, Mich. 




■nnT'T'T T? ptt^I'H'F'RS _This is a game in which the competitors push bottles on the ice with 

son pulhesTbottiracross the field for a distance that .s agreed upon.__ 

























410 


How to Make a Hammock 

Any one can make a hammock as 
good as can be bought and that at a 
cost so small that every member of 
the family can possess one providing 
there are places enough for hanging 
them. 

The materials required are a needle 
about 7 in. long, and with a big eye, an 
iron ring for each end of the hammock, 
two long smooth sticks on which to 
knit the hammock and two pounds of 
strong hemp cord or twine. The twine 
may be colored in any color or com¬ 
bination of colors desired. A Roman 
stripe at each end of the hammock 
makes a pretty effect. 

A hammock 45 in. wide will not be 
too large for solid comfort. To knit it 
first thread the big needle and holding 
it in the left hand, hold the cord in 
place with the thumb until you have 
looped the cord over the tongue, then 
pass the cord under the needle to the 
opposite side and catch it over the 
tongue. Repeat this operation until the 
needle is full. Cut a 2-yd. length of 
cord and make a loop and fasten to the 
door knob or to some other convenient 
place. Tie the cord on the needle to 
this loop 3 in. from the end of the loop. 
Place the small mesh stick under the 
cord with the beveled edge close to the 
loop, and, with a thumb on the cord to 
hold it in place, pass the needle around 
the stick and then, point downward, 
pass it through the loop from the top, 


and then bring it over the stick so form¬ 
ing the first half of the knot. 

Pull this tight and hold in place with 
a thumb while throwing the cord over 
your hand, which forms the loop. Pass 
the needle from under through the loops 
and draw fast to fasten the knot. Hold 
this in place and repeat the operation. 

Make 30 of these knots and then push 


them off the stick and proceed in the 
same way with the next row, passing 
the needle first through each of the 
30 knots made for the first row. 
Make 30 rows and then tie the last 
loops to the other iron ring. Stretchers 
may be made and put in place and the 
hammock, strong and durable, is fin¬ 
ished. The work must be carefully and 
evenly done. One is apt to have a little 
trouble getting the first row right, but 
after that the work proceeds quite 
rapidly. 


How to Obtain Cheap Dry Batteries 

Not very many people realize that 
good, serviceable dry cells can be ob¬ 
tained from an automobile garage very 
cheap. These cells having been “run 
out” beyond the required number of 
amperes for automobile use, will give 
excellent service, considering their cost. 
Many of them will give two-thirds of 
their original amperage. Six of such 
cells have been in use on my door-bell 
circuit for nearly a year. They can be 
used for other purposes just as well.— 
Contributed by H. H. Cutter. 


How to Make a Water Telescope 

Before you decide on a place to cast 
your hook it is best to look into the 
water to see whether any fish are there. 
Yes, certainly, you can look into the 
water and see the fish that are 
there swimming about, nf you 
have the proper equipment. 
What you need is a water tele¬ 
scope. This is a device made 
of wood or metal with one end 
of glass. When the glass end is 
submerged, by looking in at the open 
end, objects in the water are made 
plainly visible to a considerable depth. 
In Norway, the fishermen use the wa¬ 
ter telescope regularly in searching for 
herring shoals or cod. 

All that is necessary to make a 
wooden water telescope is a long 
wooden box, a piece- of glass for one 



The Water Telescope 









411 



end and some paint and putty for mak¬ 
ing the seams watertight. Fix 
the glass in one end of the box, 
and leave the other open to look 
through. 

A tin water telescope is more 
convenient than the wooden 
one, but more difficult to make. 

The principal essential for this 
is a circular piece of glass for 
the large end. A funnel shaped 
tin horn will do for the rest. 

Solder in the glass at the large end 
and the telescope is made. Sinkers con¬ 
sisting of strips of lead should be sol¬ 
dered on near the bottom to counter¬ 
act the buoyancy of the air contained 
in the watertight funnel and also helps 
to submerge the big end. The inside 
of the funnel should be painted black 
to prevent the light from being reflect¬ 
ed on the bright surface of the tin. If 
difficulty is found in obtaining a cir¬ 
cular piece of glass, the bottom may 
be made square and square glass used. 
Use plain, clear glass; not magnifying 
glass. To picnic parties the water tel¬ 
escope is of great amusement, revealing 
numerous odd sights in the water which 
many have never seen before. 


How tr Rid Your Yard of Cats 

The following is a description of a 
device I built at my home in Brooklyn, 
which not only gave us relief from the 


apart, fastening them down with small 
staples, care being taken that they did 
not touch. To the ends of these wires 
I fastened ordinary insulated bell wire, 
running them to the house and con¬ 
necting them to the upper binding- 
posts of an induction coil; I then ran 
a wire from the lower binding-post of 
my coil through the batteries back to 
the other lower binding-post of coil, 
breaking the circuit by putting in an 
ordinary switch. The more batteries 
used, the stronger the current. The 
switch should always be left open, as 
it uses up the current very rapidly. 

When “tabby” is well on the wires I 
close the switch and she goes the length 
of the fence in bounds, often coming 
back to see what the trouble is, thus 
receiving another shock.—Contributed 
by Charles L. Pultz. 


A gouge may be used as a substitute 



nightly feline concerts, but also fur- bit if a proper sized bit is not at hand, 

nished much amusement to my friends. The gouge can be placed in the brace 

I first ran two bare copper wires the same as a bit. 





































412 


Drying Films 

The drying of photographic film in 
full lengths without scratching or curl¬ 
ing is quite difficult. Various devices 
are used to keep the film straight, and 



Pins Keep the Film Straight 


push pins or thumb tacks are supplied 
with almost all of them. The illus¬ 
tration shows a simple and inexpensive 
device constructed of common wood 
clothespins without any metal pins to 
come in contact with the film and 
cause rust streaks. A pair of pins are 
fastened at each end of the film by 
pushing one pin over the other which 
in turn is clamped on the film. A string 
tied to the heads of one pair of pins 
provides a way to hang the whole on a 
nail. The lower pair of pins makes a 
weight to keep the film straight.—Con¬ 
tributed by J. Mac Gregor, Montreal, 
Canada. 


Grooved Pulley Made from Sheet Tin 

A grooved pulley which will run true 
and carry a round belt may be made 
without the use of other tools than a 
compass and pair of shears, with a drill 
or punch for making two rivet holes. 

Lay off a circle on the tin, of the di¬ 
ameter desired for the bottom of the 


groove. Then lay off a concentric 
circle of % in. greater radius. Cut 
out along the lines of the large circle. 
On the line of the small circle mark 
with a prick punch or nail a series of 
slight dents, about % in. apart, all the 
way around. Now make cuts from the 
line of the large circle to these dents, 
stopping when the shears give the lit¬ 
tle “click” on entering the dent Bend 
the little tongues thus formed alter¬ 
nately to the right and left, then by 
shaping them with some care you will 
have a good running surface for the 
belt. It will not make any difference if 
there are more tongues on one side 
than the other, or if they are not equally 
spaced, within reason. 

For the hub, solder or rivet a 
“handle” across the center hole and 
drill a hole through it of the same size 
as the center hole. With the help of 
solder a grooved pulley which will 
answer almost every experimental 
purpose may be made, and it is re¬ 
markable with how slight care a per¬ 
fectly true wheel may be made in this 
manner. 

The same principle might in some 
way be applied to gear-wheels, for light 
and temporary use.—Contributed by 
C. W. Nieman, New York City. 


An Emergency Glass Funnel 

Secure a glass bottle having a small 
neck and tie a string saturated in kero¬ 
sene around 
the outside 
at A and B 
as shown in 
the sketch. 
Light the 
string and 
allow it to 
burn until 
the glass is 
heated, then plunge the bottle quickly 
into water. The top or neck will then 
come off easily. The sharp edges are 
ground or filed off smooth. This will 
make a good emergency funnel which 
serves the purpose well for filling wide 
necked bottles.—Contributed by Jos. 
W. Sorenson, Everett, Wash. 























413 


An Electrical Walking Stick 

A cane that will produce an electric 
shock when shaking hands is one sup¬ 
plied with the electrical apparatus 
shown in the sketch. An ordinary 
cane, 1 in. in diameter at the top and 
having a metal band A, is bored about 
8 in. deep, to receive the battery B and 
induction coil C. One of the electrical 
connections is through the metal tip D 
to the earth, the other is through the 



Battery and Coil in Cane 


metal band A when the push button E 
is pressed. 

The one using the cane merely holds 
the metal end D in contact with the 
earth and while shaking hands with a 
friend he pushes the button and starts 
the coil in operation.—Contributed by 
Stanley Radcliffe, Laurel, Md. 

Convenient Shelf Arrangement 

A convenient device for crowded 
shelves and cupboards is shown 
in the accom¬ 
panying sketch. 
Halfway be¬ 
tween shelves A 
and B is in¬ 
stalled a second 
shelf C which is 
only half as 
wide as the other 
shelves. This 
provides a convenient place for small 
articles and utensils, while in a china 
closet it furnishes a splendid space for 
cups, sauce dishes or other small 
pieces. It also adds a neat and pleas¬ 
ing appearance.—Contributed by E. 
M. Williams, Oberlin, Ohio. 


A Shoe Scraper 

On steps of public buildings, shops 
and dwellings is usually found some 
sort of a mud scraper for the shoes. 
These remove the mud from the sole 
of the shoe and leave it on the edge 


and sides. The scraper shown in the 
sketch is of simple construction, and 
removes the mud from the soles and 



sides of any size shoe in one opera¬ 
tion. The scrapers spread and bring 
pressure to bear on all sizes. The side 
scrapers must be made of metal that 
will spring. The standard is of heavy 
sheet metal with the thinner strips 
riveted to the projecting uprights at 
the ends. 

Fastening a Shade to a Roller 

Tack the shade A in the usual man¬ 
ner and roll it as far back as possible 
and while in this 
position apply 
an ample quan¬ 
tity of glue near 
the tacks, as 
shown at B. A 
shade attached in this manner will not 
come loose from the roller. 


Vegetable Slicer 

The slicer is made of a knife blade, 
screw and pin handle. The screw is 
soldered into the end of the knife blade. 
As the screw feeds into the vegetable 



or fruit, the blade will slice it in a curl 
of even thickness.—Contributed by H. 
C. Roufeldt, Toledo, O. 










































414 


How to Make an Etched Copper Picture Frame 


Secure a heavy piece of copper about 
8 or 10 gauge, cut to 7 by 7% in. Make 
a design on a piece of paper. The ac¬ 
companying sketch offers a suggestion. 



If the design is to be symmetrical, 
draw a line down the middle of the 
paper, make one-half the fold and trace 
the remaining half by placing a piece 
of double-surfaced carbon paper be¬ 
tween the halves. Fasten this design 
with a little paste on the copper at two 
of its corners and trace it on the copper 
by means of the carbon paper. 

Remove the paper, and, with a small 
brush and black varnish or asphaltum 
paint, cover the part not to be eaten by 
the acid of the bath into which the 
metal is to be immersed. Two or three 
coats will be necessary to withstand 
the acid. The conventional trees, the 
border as shown in the illustration, and 
the back are covered with the varnish 
or asphaltum. 

The etching solution should be put 
in a stone vessel of some kind and 
care should be taken not to allow it 
to get on the hands or clothes. A stick 
should be used to handle the metal 
while it is in the solution. This solu¬ 
tion is made by putting in the stone 
jar the following: Water a little more 
than one-half, nitric acid a little less 


than one-half. Do not add the water to 
the acid. Leave the metal in this solu¬ 
tion three or four hours. The time will 
depend upon the strength of the acid 
and the depth to which you wish the 
etching to be done. An occasional ex¬ 
amination of the object will show 
when to take it out. 

When the etching has been carried 
as far as desirable, take the copper from 
the bath and remove the asphaltum by 
scraping it as clean as possible, using 
an old case knife. After doing this, put 
some of the solution, or pickle as it is 
called, in an old pan and warm it over 
a flame. Put the metal in this hot 
liquid and swab it with batting or cloth 
fastened to the end of a stick. Rinse 
in clear water to stop the action of the 
acicj. When clean, cut the metal out 
from the center where the picture is to 
be placed, using a metal saw. 

Solder on the back several small clips 
with which to hold the picture in place. 
There must also be a support soldered 
in place to keep the frame upright. To 
further clean the metal before solder¬ 
ing, use a solution in the proportion of 
one-half cup of lye to 3 gal. water. 
Heat either the solution or the metal 
just before using. 

When soldering, care must be taken 
to have the parts to be soldered thor¬ 
oughly clean. Any grease or foreign 
matter will prevent the solder from 
running properly. On a piece of slate 
slab, heavy glass or other hard, non¬ 
absorbent substance that is clean, put 
a little water and grind a lump of borax 
around until the resultant is like thin 
cream. Thoroughly clean the parts 
that are to be soldered by scraping 
with a knife, and do not‘touch with the 
fingers afterward. Place a piece of thin 
silver solder between the parts after 
having coated them and the solder with 
the borax. Use a pair of tweezers to 
pick up the solder. Hold the parts 
firmly together and apply heat—slowly 
at first until all moisture has been ex¬ 
pelled and the borax crystallized, after 
which the flame may be applied more 
directly and the parts brought to a 
soldering heat. An alcohol flame will 



























415 


do. Heat applied too quickly will painted in some pretty tint, or, if pre¬ 
throw off the solder and spoil the ferred, may be enameled.—Contributed 
attempt. by G. J. Tress. 



Details of Easel Construction 



I T 

Fig, 4 


There are various ways of finishing 
the metal. It may be polished by 
means of powdered pumice, chalk or 
charcoal, and then treated with a coat 
of French varnish diluted ten times its 
volume in alcohol. Another popular 
way is to give the background a bluish- 
green effect by brushing it over a great 
many times, after it has been cleaned, 
with a solution composed of muriate 
of ammonia, 1 part; carbonate of am¬ 
monia, 3 parts; water, 24 parts. The 
whole may then be treated with French 
varnish to preserve the colors. 


How to Make an Easel 

A strong and substantial easel may 
be made at home with very little ex¬ 
pense and no great difficulty. 

Smooth down with a plane, four 
pieces of pine, 1 in. thick, 4 in. wide 
and 4 ft. long, until suitable for legs. 
Make three cross-pieces, Fig. 1, and 
join the legs with them as shown in 
Fig. 2. With an auger bore a hole in 
each leg about 3 in. from the bottom, 
and fit into each a little peg, Fig. 2, for 
the picture to rest on. The peg should 
be of hardwood so it will not break. 

Cut the handle from an old broom, 
measure off the right length, and put a 
hinge on one end. Fasten this leg on 
the second cross-piece, thus forming a 
support for the two front legs, Fig. 3. 
The easel may be finished according to 
the individual taste. It may be sand¬ 
papered and stained and varnished, or 



How to Make a Wind Propeller 

A wind propeller may be constructed 
with four old bicycle wheels arranged 
with shafts pretty much like the shafts 
of a hand-propelled cart. The platform 
is flatter, how¬ 
ever, and the 
body one tier 
so that it is 
lower. A 
framework of 
wood is built 
.... . _ at M and this 

Wind Propeller 

is a support 
for several purposes. The sail is se¬ 
cured to the mast which is fixed into 
the body of the cart as shown. The 
sail is linen fabric. There are two cross¬ 
pieces to aid in keeping the sail prop¬ 
erly opened. The steering arrangement 
is through the rear shaft. The shaft is 
pivoted as in a hand-propelled cart, and 
the rod I extends from the middle con¬ 
nection of the shaft up to a point where 
the person seated on the wooden frame 
can handle it. There is a brake ar¬ 
ranged by making a looped piece J and 
hinging it as shown. This piece is 
metal, fitted with a leather face. The 
cord K is pulled to press the brake. 
I marks the support for the mast un¬ 
derneath the body of the cart. In a 
steady breeze this cart spins nicely 
along the roads. 


Never change a single ball in a bear¬ 
ing. Renew them all. 




























416 


How to Construct an Annunciator 


Oftentimes a single electric bell may 
be connected in a circuit so that it 
can be operated from more than one 
push button. These push buttons are 
usually located in entirely different 
parts of the building and it is neces¬ 
sary to have some means of determin¬ 
ing the particular push button that was 
pressed and caused the bell to operate. 
The electric annunciator is a device 
that will indicate or record the various 
calls or signals that may be sent over 
the circuits to which the annunciator 
is connected. A very simple and inex¬ 
pensive annunciator may be made in 
the following way: 

Before taking up the construction of 
the annunciator it would be best to 
make a diagrammatic drawing of the 
circuit in which the annunciator is to 
operate. The simplest circuit that will 
require an annunciator is one where the 
bell may be operated from either of 
two push buttons. In this case the an¬ 
nunciator must be constructed to give 
only two indications. Fig. 1 shows how 
the various elements of such a circuit 
may be connected. B is an ordinary vi¬ 
brating electric bell, Ml and M2 are 
the two electromagnets of the annun¬ 
ciator, A is a battery of several dry 
cells, and PI and P2 are the push but¬ 
tons from either of which the bell may 
be operated. 

When the push button Pi is pressed 
the circuit is completed through the 
winding of the magnet Ml and its core 
becomes magnetized. In a similar 
manner the core of the magnet M2 be¬ 
comes magnetized when the push but¬ 
ton P2 is pressed and the circuit com¬ 
pleted through the winding of the mag¬ 
net M2. 

If an iron armature, that is supported 
by a shaft through its center and 
properly balanced, be placed near the 
ends of the cores of Ml and M2, as 
shown in Fig. 2, it may assume the 
position indicated by either the full or 
dotted lines, depending upon which of 
the magnets, Ml or M2, was last mag¬ 
netized. The position of this armature 


will serve to indicate the push button 
from which the bell was operated. The 
magnets should be placed inside a case 
and the indication may be made by a 
pointer attached to the shaft, support¬ 
ing the armature. 

If you are able to secure the electro¬ 
magnets from a discarded electric bell 
they will work fine for the magnets Ml 
and M2. They should be disconnected 
from their iron support and mounted 
upon some non-magnetic material, such 
as brass or copper, making the dis¬ 
tance between their centers as small as 
possible. The piece of metal upon 
which the magnets are mounted should 
now be fastened, by means of two wood 
screws, to the back of the board, shown 
in Fig. 6, that is to form the face of 
the annunciator. It should be about 
% in. thick, % in. wide and long 
enough to extend a short distance be¬ 
yond the cores of the magnets Ml and 
M2. Drill a 1/16-in. hole through its 
center, as shown in Fig. 2. Drive a 
piece of steel rod into this hole, mak¬ 
ing sure the rod will not turn easily in 
the opening, and allow about % in. of 
the rod to project on one side, and 
1% in. on the other side. 

Drill a hole in the board upon which 
the magnets are mounted so that when 
the long end of the rod carrying the 
armature is passed through the hole, 
the armature will be a little more than 
1/16 in. from each magnet core. The 
short end of the rod should be sup¬ 
ported by means of a piece of strip 
brass bent into the form shown in 
Fig. 3. 

Drill a hole in the center of this 
piece, so the rod will pass through it. 
When the armature has been put in its 
proper place, fasten this strip to the 
board with two small wood screws. 
You may experience some difficulty 
in locating the hole in the board for 
the rod, and it no doubt would be best 
to drill this hole first and fasten the 
magnets in place afterwards. 

Two small collars should be fastened 
to the rod to prevent its moving end- 


417 


wise. Fit the collars tightly on the rod 
to hold them in place. 

Cut the long end of the rod off so it 
projects through the face of the an¬ 
nunciator about % in. Take some very 
thin sheet brass and cut out a needle or 
indicator as shown in Fig. 4. In a 
small piece of brass drill a hole so it 
will fit tight on the other end of the 
rod. Solder the indicator to this piece 
and force it in place on the end of the 
rod. 

When the armature is the same dis- 


face of the case; three whose dimen¬ 
sions correspond to those of Figs. 7, 
8, and 9 and are to form the lower and 
upper end of the case and the finish for 
the top. 

Secure a piece of window glass, 4% 
in. by 3% in. that is to be used as the 
front. Before assembling the case cut 
on the inner surface of the pieces form¬ 
ing the sides and the lower end, a 
groove just wide enough to take the 
glass and 1/16 in. in depth. The outer 
edge of this groove should be % in. 



tance from each core, the indicator 
should be parallel to the long dimen¬ 
sion of the face of the case. The case 
of the instrument may be made in 
the following way: 

Secure a piece of %-in. oak, or other 
hard wood, 3 in. wide and 2^/2 ft* 

Then cut from this board the follow¬ 
ing pieces: two whose dimensions cor¬ 
respond to those of Fig. 5 and are to 
form the sides of the case; two whose 
dimensions correspond to those of Fig. 
6 and are to form the back and the 


from the outer edge of the frame. After 
the case is fastened together there 
should be a slot between the piece 
forming the upper end and the piece 
that serves as a finish at the top, that 
will allow the glass to be slipped into 
place. A small strip of wood should be 
tacked over this slot, after the glass is 
put in place, to prevent the dust and 
dirt from falling down inside of the 
case. 

The piece upon which the works are 
to be mounted may be fastened in place 






















































































418 


by means of four round-headed brass 
screws that pass through the sides of 
the case. It should be fastened about 
% in. back of the glass front. The 
back may be fastened inside of the case 
in a similar manner. 

Cut two pieces, from some sheet 
brass, whose dimensions correspond to 
those of Fig. 10. These pieces are to 
be used in supporting the case by means 
of some small screws. Fasten three 
binding-posts, that are to form the ter¬ 
minals of the annunciator, on the top 
of the upper end of the case. Mark 
one of these binding-posts C and the 
other two LI and L2. Connect one ter¬ 
minal of each of the magnet windings 
to the post marked C and the other 
terminal to the posts Ll and L2. You 
can finish the case in any style you may 
desire. Oftentimes it is desirable to 
have it correspond to the finish of the 


woodwork of the room in which it is 
to be placed. The distance the point 
of the indicator will move through de¬ 
pends upon the distance between the 
cores of the magnets and the distance 
of the armature from these cores. These 
distances are oftentimes such that the 
indications of the cell are not very defi¬ 
nite. If the armature is moved too far 
from the cores there is not sufficient 
pull exerted by them when magnetized, 
to cause the position of the armature 
to change. 

Mount on the shaft carrying the ar¬ 
mature a small gear wheel. Arrange 
another smaller gear to engage this on 
and fasten the indicator to the shaft 
of the smaller gear. Any movement 
now of the armature shaft will re¬ 
sult in a relative large movement of the 
indicator shaft. Figure 11 shows the ar¬ 
rangement of the gears just described. 


How to Make a Steam Calliope 


Secure ten gas jet valves, the part 
of the gas fixture shown in Fig. 1, and 
prepare to place them in a piece of 
1-in. pipe, 12 in. long. This is done 
by drilling and tapping 10 holes, each 



1 in. apart, in a straight line along the 
pipe. The valves screwed into these 
holes appear as shown in Fig. 2. The 
whistles are made from pipe of a dia¬ 
meter that will fit the valves. No di¬ 
mensions can be given for the exact 
lengths of these pipes as they must be 
tried out to get the tone. Cut ten 


pieces of this pipe, each one of a dif¬ 
ferent length, similar to the pipes on a 
pipe organ. Cut a thread on both ends, 
put a cap on the end intended for the 
top, and fit a plug in the other end. 
The plug must have a small portion of 
its side filed out, and a notch cut in the 
side of the pipe with its horizontal 
edge level with the top of the plug. 
This part of each whistle is made sim¬ 
ilar to making a bark whistle on a 
green stick of willow. The pipes are 
then screwed into the valves. 

The whistles may be toned by trying 
out and cutting off pieces of the pipe, 
or by filling the top end with a little 
melted lead. The 1-in. pipe must have 
a cap screwed on one end and the 
other attached to a steam pipe. The 
steam may be supplied by using an 
old range boiler, placed horizontally 
in a fireplace made of brick or sheet 
iron. If such a boiler is used, a small 
safety valve should be attached. The 
keys and valve operation are shown in 
Fig. 3. This is so plainly illustrated 
that it needs no explanation.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Herbert Hahn, Chicago. 















419 


Sharpening Scissors 

When sharpening scissors on a 
grindstone it is very difficult to procure 
a straight edge. For those not having 
the facilities of a grinding arrangement 
a very handy device that will produce 
a straight and sharp edge can be easily 
constructed as follows: 

Procure a block of wood, 1% in- 
long, 1 in. wide and % in. thick, and 
saw a kerf square with the face of the 
block, as shown at A. Attach a piece 



A Block of Wood Fitted with a Piece of Emery Cloth 
for Sharpening Scissors Correctly 

of fine emery cloth in the kerf, at B, 
with glue, taking care to have it flat on 
the sloping surface only and allowing 
no part of the cloth to turn the sharp 
corner and lie on the back side. Apply 
the block to the scissor blade as shown 
and draw it back and forth from one 
end to the other, being careful to keep 
the back side of the blade flat against 
the block. Without being familiar 
with scissors grinding, anyone can 
sharpen them correctly with this block. 
—Contributed by Harriet Kerbaugh, 
Allentown, Pa. 


Counter Brush for a Shop 

A very serviceable brush for use 
around a shop can be made from a dis¬ 
carded or worn-out push broom as 
shown at A. Pull out the bristles 
from one-half of the brush and shape 
the wood of that end with a knife or 



A Discarded Push Broom Shaped to Form a Brush 
for the Bench or Counter 


spokeshave to the form of a handle, 
and the brush will be formed as shown 
at B.—Contributed by James T. Gaff¬ 
ney, Chicago. _ .' 


A Curtain Roller 


Procure a window-shade roller, an 
umbrella rib and two strips of oilcloth, 
each 1 in. wide and 4 in. long. Cut the 



The Curtain is Easily Attached to and Detached from 
the Roller for Cleaning 


roller off so that it will be 6 in. longer 
than the distance across the window, 
then cut a groove in it to insert the rib. 
Sew the pieces of oilcloth so that they 
will just fit over the ends of the roller. 
When this is done lay the curtain 
across the groove, then press the rib 
and curtain into the groove and push 
the oilcloth bands over the ends of the 
rib to keep it in place.—Contributed by 
E. L. McFarlane, Nashwaakees, N. B. 


Shade-Holder Bracket for a Gas Jet 

An old umbrella rib makes a very 
effective shade-holder bracket for a 
gas jet. The ends of the rib are bent 
to fit around the pendant upright 
and the support end is shaped into 
a hook. It can be quickly applied 
or removed. The outer end 
is bent into a hook to 



The Bracket for Holding 
the Shade is Made from 
an Old Umbrella Rib 


hold the shade. The rib can be cut to 
fit a pendant arm of any length.— 
Contributed by Edward Keegstra, 
Paterson, N. J. 


To Longer Preserve Cut Flowers 

A good way to keep cut flowers fresh 
is to place a small amount of pure salt 
of sodium in the water. It is best to 
procure this salt at a drug store be¬ 
cause commercial salt will cause the 
flowers to wither, due to the impurities 
in the soda. Call for pure sodium 
chloride. 


































420 


Glass Blowing 

Fortunate indeed is the boy who re¬ 
ceives a stock of glass tubing, a Bun¬ 
sen burner, a blowpipe, and some char¬ 
coal for a gift, for he has a great deal 
of fun in store for himself. Glass 
blowing is a useful art to understand, 
if the study of either chemistry or 
physics is to be taken up, because much 
apparatus can be made at home. And 
for itself alone, the forming of glass 
into various shapes has not only a good 
deal of pleasure in it, but it trains the 
hands and the eye. 

Glass, ordinarily brittle and hard, be¬ 
comes soft and pliable under heat. 
When subjected to the action of a 
flame until dull red, it bends as if made 
of putty; heated to a bright yellow, 
it is so soft that it may be blown, 
pulled, pushed or worked into any 
shape desired. Hence the necessity for 
a Bunsen burner, a device preferred 
to all others for this work, because it 
gives the hottest flame without soot or 
dirt. The Bunsen burner, as shown 
in Fig. 1, is attached to any gas bracket 
with a rubber tube, but the flame is 
blue, instead of yellow, as the burner 
introduces air at its base, which mixes 
with the gas and so produces an almost 
perfect combustion, instead of the par¬ 
tial combustion which results in the 
ordinary yellow flame. All gas stoves 
have Bunsen burners, and many oil 
stoves. 

If gas is not available, an alcohol 
lamp with a large wick will do almost 
as well. The blowpipe, shown in Fig. 
2, is merely a tube of brass with the 
smaller end at right angles to the pipe, 
and a fine tip to reduce the size of the 
blast, which is used to direct a small 
flame. Besides these tools, the glass 
worker will need some round sticks of 
charcoal, sharpened like a pencil, as 
shown in Fig. 3, a file, and several 
lengths of German glass tubing. 

To bend a length of the tubing, let 
it be assumed for the purpose of mak¬ 
ing a syphon, it is only necessary to 
cork one end of the tube and heat it 
near the top of the Bunsen flame, turn¬ 
ing the tubing constantly to make it 


and Forming 

heat evenly on all sides, until it is a 
dull red in color. It will then bend of 
its own weight if held in one hand, 
but to allow it to do so is to make a 
flat place in the bend. The heating 
should be continued until the red color 
is quite bright, when the open end of 
the tube is put in the mouth and a 
little pressure of air made in the tube 
by blowing. At the same time, the 
tube is bent, steadily but gently. The 
compressed air in the tube prevents it 
from collapsing during the process. 

To make a bulb on the end of a 
tube, one end must be closed. This is 
easily done by heating as before, and 
then pulling the tube apart as shown 
in Fig. 4. The hot glass will draw, 
just like a piece of taffy, each end 
tapering to a point. This point on one 
length is successively heated and 
pressed toward and into the tube, by 
means of a piece of charcoal, until the 
end is not only closed, but as thick as 
the rest of the tube, as in Fig. 5. An 
inch or more is now heated white hot, 
the tube being turned continually to 
assure even heating and to prevent the 
hot end from bending down by its own 
weight. When very hot, a sudden puff 
into the open end of the tube will ex¬ 
pand the hot glass into a bulb, as in 
Fig. 6. These can be made of con¬ 
siderable size, and, if not too thin, 
make very good flasks (Fig. 7) for 
physical experiments. The base of the 
bulb should be flattened by setting it, 
still hot, on a flat piece of charcoal, so 
that it will stand alone. 

To weld two lengths of glass tubing 
together, heat the end of a tube and 
insert the point of a piece of charcoal 
in the opening, and twirl it about until 
the end of the tube has a considerable 
flare. Do the same to the end of the 
other tube, which is to be joined to the 
first, and then, heating both to a dull 
red, let them touch and press lightly 
together as in Fig. 8. As soon as they 
are well in contact, heat the two joined 
flares together, very hot, and, pulling 
slightly, the flares will flatten out and 
the tube be perfectly joined. Tubes 


421 


joined without previous flaring have a 
constricted diameter at the joint. 

To make a T-joint in two pieces of 
tubing, it is necessary to make a hole 
in the side of one piece, as shown at 
A in Fig. 9. This is accomplished by 
the aid of the principle of physics that 
gases expand when heated. Both ends 
of the tube, which should be cold, are 
corked tightly. The whole is then 
gradually warmed by being held near 
the flame. When warm, a small flame 
is directed by the blowpipe from the 
Bunsen flame to a spot on one side of 


attraction, water or other liquid rising 
in them when they are plunged into it, 
are made by heating as long a section 
of tubing as can be handled in the 
flame—2 in. will be found enough— 
and, when very hot, giving the ends a 
sudden vigorous pull apart. The tube 
pulls out and gets smaller and smaller 
as it does so, until at last it breaks. 
But the fine thread of glass so made 
is really a tube, and not a rod, as 
might be supposed. This can be dem¬ 
onstrated by blowing through it at 
a gas flame, or by immersing it in 



m 

cn 

cn 



DU 

CD 

ED 



Fig. 9 


the closed tube. As it heats, the air 
within the tube expands and becomes 
compressed, and as soon as the hot 
spot on the side of the tube is soft 
enough, the confined air blows out, 
pushing the hot glass aside as it does 
so, leaving a small puncture. This is 
to be enlarged with pointed charcoal 
until it also flares as shown at B. This 
flare is then connected to the flared 
end of a straight tube, C, and the T- 
joint, D, is complete. 

Using the blowpipe is not difficult. 
The lips and cheeks should be puffed 
out with a mouthful of air, which is 
ample to blow a flame while the lungs 
are being refilled. In this way, it is 
possible to use the blowpipe steadily, 
and not intermittently, as is necessary 
if the lungs alone are the “bellows.” 

Small glass funnels, such as are used 
in many chemical operations, are made 
by first forming a bulb, then punctur¬ 
ing the bulb at the top, when hot, with 
a piece of charcoal, and smoothing 
down or flaring the edges. Very small 
and fine glass tubes, such as are used 
in experiments to demonstrate capillary 


colored liquid. The solution will be 
seen to rise some distance within the 
tube, the amount depending on the 
diameter of the tube. 

The file is for cutting the glass tub¬ 
ing into lengths convenient to handle. 
It should be a three-cornered file, of 
medium fineness, and is used simply to 
nick the glass at the place it is de¬ 
sired to cut it. The two thumbs are 
then placed beneath the tube, one on 
each side of the nick, and the tube 
bent, as if it were plastic, at the same 
time pulling the hands apart. The tube 
will break off squarely at the nick, 
without difficulty. 

The entire outfit may be purchased 
from any dealer in chemical or physical 
apparatus, or any druggist will order 
it. Enough tubing to last many days, 
the Bunsen burner, blowpipe, file and 
charcoal should not exceed $2 in cost. 


The addition of cadmium to soft 
solder composed of tin and lead, lowers 
its melting point and increases its 
strength. 












































. 422 


TELEGRAPH COULG- 

MORSE, USED IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. 
CONTINENTAL, used in Europe and elsewhere. 
PHILLIPSused in the United States for“press work. 


Dash -2 do ts. Long dash -A dots. 
Space between elements of a letter =/ dot. 
Space between letters of a word -2 dots. 
In terra! m space d letters -2 dots. 

Space between words =3 dots. 

LETTERS 


Continental 



. Period 

: Colon — 

;Semicolon 
, Comma 

? In terrogation — 

! Exclamation — 
Fraction line 
-Hyphen 
’Apostrophe 
£ PoundSterling 
Paragraph — 

Italics or underline 
()Parentheses - 
'Ll Brackets ) 

“’’Quotation marks! 


PUNCTUATION, ETC. 

Morse Continental 




Phillips 


:4 


Min. Minute. 
Msgr. Messenger 
Msk. Mistake, 

No. Number. 
Ntg. Nothing. 

N. M.No more. 

O. K. AH right. 
Ofs. Office. 
Opr. Operator. 


. Period 
: Colon 

'.—Colon dash 
; Semicolon 
, Comma 
? Interrogation 
! Exclamation 
Fraction line 
— Dash 
•‘Hyphen 

£ Pound Sfer/ing - 

/Shilling mark -— 

§ Dollar mark -- 

d Pence ' - 

Capitalized letter- - - 1 

Colon followed by) __ 

quotation : “ J 

c Cents - 

. Decimal point -— 

*9 Paragraph - 

Italics or underline --- 

( ) Parentheses - 

C ] Brackets - 

“’’Quotation marks -- 

Quotation within\ ___ 

a quotation “* 

Abbreviations in Common Use 

Sig. Signature. Co. Company. 

Pd. Paid. D.H. Deadhead 

Qk. Quick. Ex. Express. 

GBAGive better address. Frt. Freight. 

Bn. Been. Fr. From. 

Bat. Battery. G.A. Go Ahead. 

Bbl. Barrel. P.O. Post Office. 

Col. Collect. R.PT. Repeat 


Tw. To-morrow. 
Tgm. Telegram. 
Tkt. Ticket. 

Rc. Receive. 
Ml. Mail. 

Lat. Latitude. 
Deg. Degree. 

An. Answer 


Ck. Check. 


Hqr s. Headquarters. Exa. Extra. 



















423 


How to Make a Cruising Catamaran 


A launch is much safer than a sail¬ 
ing boat, yet there is not the real sport 
to be derived from it as in sailing. 
Herein is given a description of a sail¬ 
ing catamaran especially adapted for 
those who desire to sail and have a 
safe craft. The main part of the craft 
is made from two boats or pontoons 
with watertight tops, bottoms and 
sides and fixed at a certain distance 
apart with a platform on top for the 
passengers. Such a craft cannot be 
capsized easily, and, as the pontoons 
are watertight, it will weather almost 
any rough water. If the craft is in¬ 
tended for rough waters, care must be 
taken to make the platform pliable yet 
stiff and as narrow as convenient to 
take care of the rocking movements. 

This catamaran has been designed to 
simplify the construction, and, if a 
larger size than the dimensions shown 
in Fig. 1 is desired, the pontoons may 
be made longer by using two boards 
end to end and putting battens on the 
inside over the joint. Each pontoon 
is made of two boards 1 in. thick, 14 in. 
wide and 16 ft. long, dressed and cut 
to the shape shown in Fig. 2. Spread¬ 
ers are cut from 2-in. planks, 10 in. 
wide and 12 in. long, and placed 6 ft. 
apart between the board sides and fast¬ 
ened with screws. White lead should 
be put in the joints before turning in 
the screws. Cut the ends of the boards 
so they will fit perfectly and make 
pointed ends to the pontoons as shown 


Turn this shell upside down and lay 
a board y 2 in. thick, 12 in. wide and 16 
ft. long on the edges of the sides, mark 



Completed Boat 


on the under side the outside line of 
the shell and cut to shape roughly. See 
that the spreaders and sides fit true all 
over, then put white lead on the joint 
and nail with 1%-in. finishing nails as 
^ close as possible without weakening 
the wood. Slightly stagger the nails 
in the sides, the 1-in. side boards will 
allow for this, trim off the sides, turn 
the box over and paint the joints and 



in Fig. 3, and fit in a wedge shaped ends of the spreaders, giving them two 
piece; white lead the joints and fasten or three coats and let them dry. 
well with screws. Try each compartment for leaks by 







































424 


turning water in them one at a time. 
Bore a %-in. hole through each 
spreader in the center and through the 


WASHERS 


\ /■ 



*-12--> 

%H0Lt 

/ j 

n 

4 5 


X? /\/ I 


^x'l/4 BRACKETS 





POHTOOn l 

Wvr. 



^COTTER Pin 

Pig 6 



bottom board as shown. The top 
board, which is ^-in. thick, 12 in. wide 
and 16 ft. long, is put on the same as 
the bottom. 

After finishing both pontoons in this 
way place them parallel. A block of 
wood is fastened on top of each pon¬ 
toon and exactly over each spreader on 
which to bolt the crosspieces as shown 
in Fig. 4. Each block is cut to the 
shape and with the dimensions shown 
in Fig. 5. 

The crosspieces are made from hick¬ 
ory or ash and each piece is 2% in. 
thick, 5 in. wide and 6% ft. long. Bore 
a %-in. hole 3 in. from each end 
through the 5-in. way of the wood. 
Take maple flooring % in- thick, 6 in. 
wide, 74% in. long and fasten with 
large screws and washers to the cross¬ 
pieces and put battens across every 18 
in. Turn the flooring and crosspieces 
upside down and fasten to the pon¬ 
toons with long %-in. bolts put 


through the spreaders. Put a washer 
on the head of each bolt and run them 
through from the under side. Place a 
thick rubber washer under and on top 
of each crosspiece at the ends as shown 
in Fig. 4. This will make a rigid yet 
flexible joint for rough waters. 'The 
flooring being placed on the under side 
of the crosspieces makes it possible to 
get the sail boom very low. The sides 
put on and well fastened will greatly 
assist in stiffening the platform and 
help it to stand the racking strains. 
These sides will also keep the water 
and spray out and much more so if a 
12-in. dash is put on in front on top 
of the crosspiece. 

The rudders are made as shown in 
Fig. 6, by using an iron rod % im in 
diameter and 2 ft. long for the bearing 
of each. This rod is split with a hack¬ 
saw for 7 in. of its length and a sheet 
metal plate 3/32 in. thick, 6 in. wide, 
and 12 in. long inserted and riveted in 
the split. This will allow % in. of the 
iron rod to project from the bottom 
edge of the metal through which a hole 
is drilled for a cotter pin. The bottom 
bracket is made from stake iron bent in 
the shape of a U as shown, the rudder 
bearing passing through a hole drilled 
in the upper leg and resting on the 
lower. Slip the top bracket on and 
then bend the top end of the bearing 
rod at an angle as shown in both Figs. 
6 and 7. Connect the two bent ends 
with a crosspiece which has a hole 
drilled in its center to fasten a rope as 
shown in Fig. 1. 

Attach the mast to the front cross¬ 
piece, also bowsprit, bracing them both 
to the pontoons. A set of sails having 
about 300 sq. ft. of area will be about 
right for racing. Two sails, main and 
fore, of about 175 to 200 sq. ft. will be 
sufficient for cruising.—Contributed 
by J. Appleton, Des Moines, Iowa. 


Rough alligator finished photograph 
mounts will not receive a good impres¬ 
sion from a die. If a carbon paper is 
placed on the mounts before making 
the impression, a good clear imprint 
will be the result. 


































425 


How to Attach a Sail to a Bicycle 

This attachment was constructed for 
use on a bicycle to be ridden on the 
well packed sands of a beach, but it 
could be used on a smooth, level road 
as well. The illustration shows the 


Removing Iodine Stains 

A good way to chemically remove 
iodine stains from the hands or linen is 
to wash the stains in a strong solution 
of hyposulphite of sodium, known as 
“hypo,” which ig procurable at any 



Bicycle Sailing on a Beach 


main frame to consist of two boards, 
each about 16 ft. long, bent in the 
shape of a boat, to give plenty of room 
for turning the front wheel. On this 
main frame is built up a triangular 
mast, to carry the mainsail and jib, 
having a combined area of about 40 
sq. ft. The frame is fastened to the 
bicycle by numerous pieces of rope. 

Sailing on a bicycle is very much 
different from sailing in a boat, for the 
bicycle leans up against the wind, in¬ 
stead of heeling over with it as the 
boat. It takes some time to learn the 
supporting power of the wind, and the 
angle at which one must ride makes it 
appear that a fall is almost sure to re¬ 
sult. A turn must be made by turning 
out of the wind, instead of, as in ordi¬ 
nary sailing, into it; the boom support¬ 
ing the bottom of the mainsail is then 
swung over to the opposite tack, when 
one is traveling at a good speed. 


photographic-supply dealer’s or drug 
store. 

There is no danger of using too 
strong a solution, but the best results 
are obtained with a mixture of 1 oz. 
of hypo to 2 oz. of water. 


Drying Photograph Prints without 
Curling 

Having made some photograph 
prints at one time that I wanted to 
dry without the edges curling, I took 
an ordinary tin can and a strip of clean 
cotton cloth, as wide as the can was 
long, and wound it one turn around 
the can and then placed the prints, one 
after the other, while they were damp, 
on the cloth, face downward, and pro¬ 
ceeded to roll the cloth and prints quite 


















426 


close on the can. I then pinned the end 
of the cloth to keep it from unwinding 
and set the whole in a draft for drying. 
The curvature of the can just about 



counteracted the tendency of the coat¬ 
ing on the paper to make the prints 
curl and when they were thoroughly 
dried and removed they remained nice 
and flat.—Contributed by W. H. Ep- 
pens, Chicago. 


Piercing Glass Plates with a Spark Coil 

Anyone possessing a 1-in. induction 
coil and a 1-qt. Leyden jar can easily 
perform the interesting experiment of 
piercing glass plates. Connect the 
Leyden jar to the induction coil as 
shown in the diagram. A discharger is 
now constructed of very dry wood and 
boiled in paraffine for about 15 min¬ 
utes. The main part of the discharger, 
A B, is a piece of wood about 6 in. long 
and to the middle of it is fastened a 
wood handle by means of one or two 
wood screws. A binding-post is fast¬ 
ened to each end of the main piece or 
at A and B as shown in the diagram. 



Ktr 

Puncturing Glass Plates 


Two stiff brass wires of No. 14 gauge 
and 6 in. long, with a small brass ball 
attached to one end of each, are bent 


in an arc of a circle and attached one 
to each binding-post. 

A plate of glass, G, is now placed 
between the two brass balls and the 
coil set in action. The plate will soon 
be pierced by the spark. Larger coils 
will pierce heavier glass plates.—Con¬ 
tributed by I. Wolff, Brooklyn, N. Y. 


A Home-Made Still 

Remove the metal end of an old elec¬ 
tric light globe. This can be done by 
soaking a piece of twine in alcohol and 
tying it around the globe at the place 
the break is to be made. Light the 
string and after it is burned off, turn 
cold water on the globe. The result 
will be a smooth break where the string 



was placed. Purchase a piece of glass 
tubing from your druggist and secure 
a cork that will fit the opening in the 
glass bulb. Bore a hole in the cork 
the right size for the glass tube to fit 
in tightly. If you cannot get a glass 
tube with a bend in it, you will have 
to make a bend, as shown in the illus¬ 
tration, by heating the tube at the right 
place over an alcohol lamp and allow¬ 
ing the weight of the glass to make the 
bend while it is hot. 

Insert the short end of the tube in 
the cork and place the other end in a 
test tube that is placed in water as 
shown. The globe may be fastened in 
position by a wire passed through the 
cork and tied to a ring stand. If you 
do not have a ring stand* suspend the 




































427 


globe by a wire from a hook that is 
screwed into any convenient place. 

A neat alcohol lamp may be made of 
an old ink or muscilage bottle. Insert 
a wick in a piece of the glass tubing 
and put this through a hole bored in 
a cork and the lamp is ready to burn 
alcohol or kerosene. Alcohol is cleaner 
to use as a fuel. Fill the globe about 
two-thirds full of water or other liquid 
and apply the heat below as shown. 
The distilled liquid will collect in the 
test tube.—Contributed by Clarence D. 
Luther, Ironwood, Mich. 


Old-Time Magic 

Balancing Forks on a Pin Head 

Two, three and four common table 
forks can be made to balance on a pin 
head as follows: Procure an empty 
bottle and insert 
a cork in the 
neck. Stick a 
pin in the center 
of this cork so 
that the end will 
be about 1 y 2 in. 
above the top. 
Procure another 
cork about 1 in. 
in diameter by 
1% in. long. 
The forks are 
now stuck into the latter cork at equal 
distances apart, each having the same 
angle from the cork. A long needle 
with a good sharp point is run through 
the cork with the forks and % in. of 
the needle end allowed to project 
through the lower end. 

The point of the needle now may be 
placed on the pin head. The forks will 
balance and if given a slight push they 
will appear to dance. Different angles 
of the forks will produce various feats 
of balancing.—Contributed by O. E. 
Tronnes, Wilmette, Ill. 

The Buttoned Cord 

Cut a piece of heavy paper in the 
shape shown in Fig. 1 and make two 
cuts down the center and a slit as long 
as the two cuts are wide at a point 


about 1 in. below them. A string is 
put through the slit, the long cuts and 
back through the slit and then a but- 


Removing the String 

ton is fastened to each end. The small 
slit should not be so large as the but¬ 
tons. The trick is to remove the 
string. The solution is quite simple. 
Fold the paper in the middle and the 
part between the long cuts will form 
a loop. Bend this loop down and pass 
it through the small slit. Turn the 
paper around and it will appear as 
shown in Fig. 2. One of the buttons 
may now be drawn through and the 
paper restored to its original shape. 


Experiment with an Incandescent 
Lamp 

When rubbing briskly an ordinary 
incandescent lamp on a piece of cloth 
and at the same time 
slightly revolving it, 
a luminous effect is 
produced similar to 
an X-ray tube. The 
room must be dark 
and the lamp per¬ 
fectly dry to obtain 
good results. It ap¬ 
pears that the inner 
surface of the globe 
becomes charged, 
probably by induc¬ 
tion, and will some¬ 
times hold the fila¬ 
ment as shown in 
the sketch.—Contributed by E. W. 
Davis, Chicago. 






















428 


How to Make a Small Motor 


The accompanying sketch shows 
how to make a small motor to run on 
a battery of three or four dry cells and 



with sufficient power to run mechan¬ 
ical toys. The armature is constructed, 
as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, by using a 
common spool with 8 flat-headed 
screws placed at equal distances apart 
and in the middle of the spool. Each 
screw is wound with No. 24 gauge iron 
wire, as shown at A, Fig. 1. The com¬ 
mutator is made from a thin piece of 
copper, 1 in. in diameter and cut as 
shown in Fig. 3, leaving 8 points, % in. 
wide and % in. deep. The field is built 
up by using 8 strips of tin, 12 in. long 
and 2 in. wide, riveted together and 
shaped as shown at B, Fig. 4. Field 
magnets are constructed by using two 
%-in. bolts, iy 2 in. long. A circular 
piece of cardboard is placed on each 
end of the bolt, leaving space enough 
for the bolt to pass through the field 
B, and to receive a nut. Wind the re¬ 
maining space between the cardboards 
with 30 ft. of No. 22 double-wound 
cotton-covered copper wire. A light 
frame of wood is built around the mag¬ 
nets, as shown at C, Fig. 4. Holes are 
made in this frame to receive the axle 
of the armature. Two strips of cop- 
per, % m - wide and 3 in. long, are used 
for the brushes. The armature is 
placed in position in its bearings and 
the brushes adjusted as shown in Fig. 
4, one brush touching the shaft of the 
armature outside of the frame, and 
the other just touching the points of 


the commutator, which is placed on the 
shaft inside of the frame. Connect 
the outside wire of one magnet to the 
inside wire of the other, and the re¬ 
maining ends, one to the batteries and 
back to the brush that touches the 
shaft, while the other is attached to 
the brush touching the commutator. 
In making the frame for the armature 
bearings, care should be taken to get 
the holes for the shaft centered, and 
to see that the screws in the armature 
pass each bolt in the magnets at equal 
distances, which should be about % in. 


Aluminum Polish 

An emulsion of equal parts of rum 
and olive oil can be used for clean¬ 
ing aluminum, says Blacksmith and 
Wheelwright. Potash lye, not too 
strong, is also effective in brightening 
aluminum, and benzol can be used for 
the same purpose. 

A good polish for aluminum consists 
of a paste formed of emery and tallow, 
the finish luster being obtained by 
the use of rouge powder and oil of 
turpentine. 


Homemade Blowpipe 

Procure a clay pipe, a cork and a 
small glass or metal tube drawn to a 
small opening in one end. Make a hole 
in the cork just large enough to per¬ 
mit the tube to pass through tightly so 
no air can pass out except through the 
hole in the tube. Put the tube in the 
hole with the small opening at the top 



or projecting end. Push the cork into 
the bowl of the pipe and the blowpipe 
is ready for use.—Contributed by 
Wilbur Cryderman, Walkerton, Ont. 






















429 


Substitute Sink or Bathtub Stopper 

Milk-bottle caps make good substi¬ 
tutes for the regular rubber stoppers 
in sinks and bathtubs. The water soon 
destroys them, but as a new one 
usually is had each day, they can be 
used until a regular stopper is 
obtained. 

A good permanent stopper can be 
made by cutting a hollow rubber re¬ 
turn ball in half, using one part with 
the concave side up. It will fit the 
hole of any sink or bathtub. One ball 
thus makes two stoppers at a cost of 
about 5 cents. 


Safety Tips on Chair Rockers 

Some rocking chairs are so con¬ 
structed that when the person occupy¬ 
ing it gives a hard tilt backward, the 
chair tips over or dangerously near it. 
A rubber-tipped screw turned into the 
under side of each rocker, near the 
rear end, will prevent the chair from 
tipping too far back. 


How to Make a Toy Flier 

While a great many people are look¬ 
ing forward to the time when we shall 
successfully travel through the air, we 
all may study the problem of aerial 
navigation by constructing for our¬ 
selves a small flying machine as illus¬ 
trated in this article. 

A wing is made in the shape shown 
in Fig. 1 by cutting it from the large 
piece of an old tin can, after melting 
the solder and removing the ends. 
This wing is then given a twist so that 
one end will be just opposite the other 
and appear as shown in Fig. 2. Secure 
a common spool and drive two nails 
in one end, leaving at least y 2 in. of 
each nail projecting after the head has 
been removed. Two holes are made 
in the wing, exactly central, to fit on 
these two nails. Another nail is driven 
part way into the end of a stick, Fig. 
4, and the remaining part is cut off so 
the length will be that of the spool. 
A string is used around the spool in 
the same manner as on a top. The 


wing is placed on the two nails in the 
spool, and the spool placed on the nail 
in the stick, Fig. 5, and the flier is ready 



for action. A quick pull on the string 
will cause the wing to leave the nails 
and soar upward for a hundred feet or 
more. After a little experience in 
twisting the wing the operator will 
learn the proper shape to get the best 
results. 

Be very careful in making the tests 
before the wings are turned to the 
proper shape, as the direction of the 
flier cannot be controlled and some one 
might be injured by its flight. 


How to Make an Ironing-Board 
Stand 

Secure some 1 by 3-in. boards, about 
3 ft. long, and plane them smooth. Cut 
the two pieces A and B 30 in. long 
and make a notch in each of them, 
about one-third of the way from one 
end, 1 in. deep and 3 in. long. These 



notches are to receive the piece D, 
which has a small block fastened to 
its side to receive the end of the brace 
C. The brace C is 36 in. long. The 

























430 


upper ends of the pieces A, B and C 
are fastened to a common ironing 
board by using iron hinges as shown 
in Fig. 1. As the piece D is fitted 
loosely, it may be removed and the 
brace, C, with the legs, A and B, fold¬ 
ed up against the board.—Contributed 
by Bert Kottinger, San Jose, Cal. 


A Home=Made Electric Plug 


A plug suitable for electric light 
extension or to be used in experiment- 
ing may be 
made from an 
old electric 
globe. The glass 
is removed with 
all the old com¬ 
position in the 
brass receptacle, 
leaving only the wires. On the ends 
of the wires, attach two small binding- 
posts. Fill the brass with plaster of 
paris, and in doing this keep the wires 
separate and the binding-posts opposite 
each other. Allow the plaster to pro¬ 
ject about f in. above the brass, to 
hold the binding-posts as shown.— 
Contributed by Albert E. Welch, New 
York. 

How to Make an Electric Fire 
Alarm 


On each end of a block of wood, 1 
in. square and 1J in. long, fasten a 
strip of brass i by 3 in., bent in the 
shape as shown in the sketch at A, 
Fig. 1. These strips should have suf¬ 
ficient bend to allow the points to 
press tightly together. A piece of bees-*' 
wax, W, is inserted between the points 



of the brass strips to keep them apart 
and to form the insulation. A binding- 
post, B, is attached to each brass strip 
on the ends of the block of wood. The 
device is fastened to the wall or ceil¬ 
ing, and wire connections made to the 
batteries and bells as shown in the dia¬ 
gram, Fig. 2. When the room becomes 
a little overheated the wax will melt 
and cause the brass strips to spring 
together, which will form the circuit 
and make the bell ring. Each room 
in the house may be connected with one 
of these devices, and all on one circuit 
with one bell. 

-» ♦ ♦- 

Home=Made Boy’s Car 


The accompanying cut shows how a 
boy may construct his own auto car. 
The car consists of parts used from a 
boy’s wagon and some old bicycle parts. 
The propelling device is made by using 
the hanger, with all its parts, from a 
bicycle. A part of the bicycle frame is 



left attached to the hanger and is fast¬ 
ened to the main board of the car by 
blocks of wood as shown. The chain of 
a bicycle is used to connect the crank 
hanger sprocket to a small sprocket 
fastened in the middle of the rear axle 
of the car. The front axle is fastened 
to a square block of wood, which is 
pivoted to the main board. Ropes are 
attached to the front axle and to the 
back part of the main board to be used 
with the feet in steering the car. To 
propel the auto, turn the cranks 
by taking hold of the bicycle pedals.— 
Contributed by Anders Neilsen, Oak¬ 
land, Cal. 



Fire Alarm Device 














































431 


Photographs in Relief Easily Made 


Relief photographs, although appar¬ 
ently difficult to produce, can be made 
by any amateur photographer. The 
negative is made in the usual way and, 


with the film side up in the usual man¬ 
ner. Put in the paper and print. This 
will require a greater length of time 
than with the ordinary negative on ac- 



Reproduced from a Relief Photograph 


when ready for printing, a positive or 
transparency is made from it in the 
same manner as a lantern slide or win¬ 
dow transparency, says the Sketch, 
London. Use the same size plate as 
the negative for the transparency. To 
make the print in relief place the posi¬ 
tive in the frame first with the film side 
out and the negative on top of this 


count of printing through double glass 
and films. In using printing-out 
papers care should be taken to place 
the printing frame in the same position 
and angle after each examination. 

CPlace the transmitting instruments 
of a wireless outfit as close together as 
possible. 













432 


How to Make a Wireless Telephone 


telephone transmitter and receiver, as 
in the ordinary telephone, to the bat¬ 
teries and to a zinc plate, which is to 


A noted French scientist, Bour- 
bouze, was able to keep up communi¬ 
cation with the outside during the 



Details of Wireless ’Phone Installation 


siege of Paris by making practical ap¬ 
plication of the earth currents. The 
distance covered is said to have been 
about 30 miles. Another scientist was 
able to telephone through the earth 
without the aid of wires. Nothing, 
however, has been made public as to 
how this was accomplished. 

It is my object to unveil the mystery 
and to render this field accessible to 
others, at least to a certain degree, for 
I have by no means completed my re¬ 
searches in this particular work. 

In order to establish a wireless com¬ 
munication between two points we 
need first of all a hole or well in the 
ground at each point. In my experi¬ 
ments I was unable to get a deep well, 
but the instruments worked'fine for a 
distance of 200 ft., using wells about 
25 ft. deep. As in ordinary telephone 
lines, we require a transmitter and re¬ 
ceiver at each point. These must be 
of the long-distance type. If a hole 
is dug or a well is found suitable for 
the purpose, a copper wire is hung in 
the opening, allowing the end to touch 
the bottom. To make the proper con¬ 
tact an oval or round—but not pointed 
—copper plate is attached to the end 
of the wire. If a well is used, it is 
necessary to have a waterproof cable 
for the part running through the wa¬ 
ter. The top end is attached to the 


be buried in the earth a few feet away 
from the well or hole, and not more 
than 1 ft. under the surface. A bat'tery 
of four’dry cells is used at each station. 

Both stations are connected in the 
same way, as shown in the sketch. 
This makes it possible for neighbors 
to use their wells as a means of com¬ 
munication with each other.—Contrib¬ 
uted by A. E. Joerin. 


Eyelets for Belts 

If eyelets, such as used in shoes, are 
put into the lace holes of a belt, the 
belt will last much longer. The eye¬ 
lets, which may be taken from old 
shoes, will prevent the lace from tear¬ 
ing out. I have used this method on 
several kinds of belts, always with en¬ 
tire satisfaction.—Contributed by Irl 
R. Hicks. 


How to Make a Life Buoy 

Any boy may be able to make, for 
himself or friends, a life buoy for 
emergency use in a rowboat or for 
learning to 
swim. Pur¬ 
chase 1% yd. 
of 30-in. can¬ 
vas and cut 
two circular 
pieces, 30 in. in 
diameter, also 
cutting a 
round hole in 
the center of them, 14 in. in diameter. 
These two pieces are sewed together 
on the outer and inner edges, leaving 
a space, about 12 in. in length, open on 
the outer seam. Secure some of the 
cork used in packing Malaga grapes 
from a grocery or confectionery store 
and pack it into the pocket formed be¬ 
tween the seams through the hole left 
in the outer edge. When packed full 
and tight sew up the remaining space 
in the seam. Paint the outside surface 
and the seams well with white paint to 
make it water-tight.—Contributed by 
Will Hare, Petrolea, Ont. 
















433 


A Home-Made Microscope 


A great many times we would like 
to examine a seed, an insect or the 
fiber of a piece of wood but have no 
A very good micro¬ 
scope may be made 
out of the bulb of a 
broken thermometer. 
Empty out the mer¬ 
cury, which is easily 
done by holding the 
bulb with the stem 
down over a lamp or candle. A spirit 
lamp is the best, as it makes no smoke 
and gives a steady heat. Warm the 
bulb slowfy and the mercury will be 
expelled and may be caught" in a tea 
cup. Do not heat too fast, or the pres¬ 
sure of the mercury vapor may burst 
the glass bulb, cautions the Woodwork¬ 
ers 5 Eeview. To fill the bulb with 
water warm it and immerse the end of 
the tube in the water. Then allow it to 
cool and the pressure of the air will 
force the water into the bulb. Then 
boil the water gently, holding the bulb 
with the stem up; this will drive out 
all the air, and by turning the stem or 
tube down and placing the end in 
water the bulb will be completely filled. 
It is surprising how much can be seen 
by means of such a simple apparatus. 


A Novel Electric Time Alarm 



clock and a small metal strip attached, 
as shown at B. An insulated connec¬ 
tion is fastened on the clapper of the 
bell, as shown at A. The arm holding 
the clapper must be bent to have the 
point A remain as close to the strip B 
as possible without touching it. The 
connection to the battery is made as 
shown. When the time set for the 
alarm comes the clapper will be moved 
far enough to make the contact. In 
the course of a minute the catch on the 
clapper arm will be released and the 
clapper will return to its former place. 
-» • ♦- 

How to Make a Phonograph Record 
Cabinet 


The core, Fig. 1, consists of six 
strips of wood beveled so as to form 
six equal sides. The strips are 3 ft. 



Phonograph Wax Record Case 


All time alarms run by clockwork 
must be wound and set each time. The 
accompanying diagram shows how to 
make the connection that will ring a 
bell by electric current at the time set 
without winding the alarm. The bell 
is removed from an ordinary alarm 



long and 3 in. wide on the outside 
bevel and are nailed to three blocks 
made hexagon, as shown in Fig. 2, from 
-J-in. material. One block is placed at 
each end and one in the middle. A 
•J-in. metal pin is driven in a hole bored 
in the center of each end block. The 
bottoms of the pasteboard cases, used 
to hold the wax records, are either 
tacked or glued to this hexagon core, 
as shown in Fig. 3, with their open 
ends outward. 

Two circular pieces are made of such 
a diameter as will cover the width of 
the core and the cases attached, and 
extend about •§ in. each side. A -J-in. 
hole is bored in the center of these 
pieces to receive the pins placed in the 


Electric Time Alarm 














































434 


ends of the core, Fig. 1. These will 
form the ends of the cabinet, and when 
placed, one on each end of the core, 
heavy building paper or sheet metal is 
tacked around them for a covering, as 
shown in Fig. 4. A small glass door 
is made, a little wider than one row 
of cases, and fitted in one side of the 
covering. The outside may be painted 
or decorated in any way to suit the 
builder. 

-- 

Experiments with a Mirror 


Ask your friend if he can decipher 
the sign as illustrated in the sketch, 
Fig. 1, which you pretend to have read 
over the shop of an Armenian shoe¬ 
maker. 


“IflUIlt IlA flllit" 

Mirror I 

Paper 

Rg- 2 _ - 

He will probably tell you that he is 
not conversant with Oriental lan¬ 
guages. He will not believe it if you 
tell him it is written in good English, 
but place a frameless mirror perpen¬ 
dicularly on the mysterious script, 
right across the quotation marks, and 
it will appear as shown in Fig. 2. We 
understand at once that the reflected 
image is the faithful copy of the writ¬ 
ten half. 

With the aid of a few books arrange 
the mirror and the paper as shown in 
Fig. 3 and ask your 
friend to write anything 
he chooses, with the con¬ 
dition that he shall see 
his hand and read the 
script in the mirror only. 

The writer will probably 
go no farther than the 
first letter. His hand 
seems to be struck with 
paralysis and unable to 


write anything but zigzags, says Sci¬ 
entific American. 

Another experiment may be made by 
taking an egg shell and trimming it 
with the scissors so as to reduce it to a 
half shell. In the hollow bottom rough¬ 
ly draw with your pencil a cross with 
pointed ends. Bore a hole, about the 
size of a pea, in the center of the cross. 
Place yourself so as to face a window, 
the light falling upon your face, not 
upon the mirror which you hold in 
one hand. Close one eye. Place the 
shell between the other eye and the 
mirror, at a distance of 2 or 3 in. 
from, either, the concavity facing the 
mirror as shown in Fig. 4. Through 
the hole in the shell look at the mirror 
as if it were some distant object. While 
you are so doing the concave shell 
will suddenly assume a strongly con¬ 
vex appearance. To destroy the illu¬ 
sion it becomes necessary either to 
open both eyes or to withdraw the shell 
away from the mirror. The nearer the 
shell to the mirror and the farther the 
eye from the shell the more readily 
comes the illusion. 


Miniature Electric Lamps 


After several years’ research there 
has been produced a miniature electric 
bulb that is a great improvement and 
a decided departure from the old kind 
which used a carbon filament. A me¬ 
tallic filament prepared by a secret 
chemical process and suspended in the 
bulb in an S-shape is used instead of 
the old straight span. The voltage is 
gauged by the length of the span. The 
brilliancy of the filament excels any¬ 
thing of its length in any voltage. 


Experimenting with a Mirror 















435 


Of course, the filament is not made 
of the precious metal, radium; that 
simply being the trade name. How¬ 
ever, the filament is composed of cer¬ 
tain metals from which radium is ex¬ 
tracted. 



The advantages of the new bulb are 
manifold. It gives five times the light 
on the same voltage and uses one-half 
of the current consumed by the old 
carbon filament. One of the disadvan¬ 
tages of the old style bulb was the glass 
tip, which made a shadow. This has 
been obviated in the radium bulb by 
blowing the tip on the side, as shown 
in the sketch, so as to produce no 
shadow. 


How to Make a Magazine Clamp 


This device as shown in the illustra¬ 
tion can be used 
to hold newspa¬ 
pers and maga¬ 
zines while read¬ 
ing. Two pieces 
of wood are cut 
as shown, one 
with a slot to fit 
over the back of 
a magazine and 
the other notched 
to serve as a clamp. The piece, A, may 
be slotted wide enough to insert two 
or three magazines and made long 
enough to hold several newspapers. 
-» - •»- ♦- 

A color resembling pewter may be 
given to brass by boiling the castings in 
a cream of tartar solution containing a 
small amount of chloride of tin. 



Drowning a Dog’s Bark with Water 


The owner of two dogs was very 
much annoyed by the dogs barking at 
night. It began to 



be such a nuisance 
that the throwing 
of old shoes and 
empty bottles did 
not stop the noise. 
The only thing that 
seemed to put a 
stop to it was water. 



Water Treatment for Dog’s Bark 


Being on the third floor of the house, 
and a little too far from the kennel to 
throw the water effectively, a mechan¬ 
ism was arranged as shown in the 
sketch. 

A faucet for the garden hose was 
directly below the window. An 8-in. 
wooden grooved pulley was slipped 
over an axle which had one end fitted 
on the handle of the faucet. A rope 
was extended to the window on the 
third floor and passed around the pul¬ 
ley several times, thence over an iron 
pulley fastened to the wall of the house 
and a weight was attached to its end. 
By pulling the rope up at the window 
the large pulley would turn on the 
water and when released the weight 
would shut off the flow. The nozzle 
was fastened so as to direct the stream 
where it would do the most good.— 
Contributed by A. S. Pennoyer, Berke¬ 
ley, Cal. 


The average cost of supplying 1,000,- 
000 gal. of water, based on the report 
of twenty-two cities, is $92. This sum 
includes operating expenses and inter¬ 
est on bonds. 



















































































436 


How to Make a Wondergraph 

By F. E. TUCK 


An exceedingly interesting machine 
is the so-called wondergraph. It is 
easy and cheap to make and will fur¬ 
nish both entertainment and instruc¬ 
tion for young and old. It is a draw¬ 
ing machine, and the variety of designs 
it will produce, all symmetrical and 
ornamental and some wonderfully 
complicated, is almost without limit. 
Fig. 1 represents diagrammatically the 
machine shown in the sketch. This is 
the easiest to make and gives fully as 
great a variety of results as any other. 

To a piece of wide board or a dis¬ 
carded box bottom, three grooved cir¬ 
cular disks are fastened with screws so 
as to revolve freely about the centers. 
They may be sawed from pieces of thin 
board or, better still, three of the 
plaques so generally used in burnt- 
wood work may be bought for about 15 
cents. Use the largest one for the re¬ 
volving table T. G is the guide wheel 
and D the driver with attached handle. 
Secure a piece of a 36-in. ruler, which 
can be obtained from any furniture 
dealer, and nail a small block, about 1 
in. thick, to one end and drill a hole 
through both the ruler and the block, 
and pivot them by means of a wooden 
peg to the face of the guide wheel. A 
fountain pen, or pencil, is placed at P 
and held securely by rubber bands in 


a grooved block attached to the ruler. 
A strip of wood, MN, is fastened to 
one end of the board. This strip is 
made just high enough to keep the 
ruler parallel with the face of the table, 
and a row of small nails are driven 


part way into its upper edge. Any one 
of these nails may be used to hold the 
other end of the ruler in position, as 
shown in the sketch. If the wheels are 
not true, a belt tightener, B, may be 
attached and held against the belt by a 
spring or rubber band. 

After the apparatus is adjusted so it 
will run smoothly, fasten a piece of 
drawing paper to the table with a cou¬ 
ple of thumb tacks, adjust the pen 
so that it rests lightly on the paper 
and turn the drive wheel. The results 
will be surprising and delightful. The 
accompanying designs were made with 
a very crude combination of pulleys 
and belts, such as described. 

The machine should have a speed 
that will cause the pen to move over 
the paper at the same rate as in ordi¬ 
nary writing. The ink should flow 
freely from the pen as it passes over 
the paper. A very fine pen may be 
necessary to prevent the lines from 
running together. 

The dimensions of the wondergraph 
may vary. The larger designs in the 
illustration were made on a table, 8 in. 
in diameter, which was driven by a 
guide wheel, 6 in. in diameter. The 
size of the driver has no effect on the 
form or dimensions of the design, but 
a change in almost any other part of 


the machine has a marked effect on the 
results obtained. If the penholder is 
made so that it may be fastened at va¬ 
rious positions along the ruler, and the 
guide wheel has holes drilled through it 
at different distances from the center 









Diagrams Showing Construction of Wondergraphs 


to hold the peg attaching the ruler, 
these two adjustments, together with 
the one for changing the other end of 
the ruler by the rows of nails, will 
make a very great number of combina¬ 
tions possible. Even a slight change 
will greatly modify a figure or give an 
entirely new one. Designs may be 
changed by simply twisting the belt, 
thus reversing the direction of the table. 

If an arm be fastened to the ruler at 
right angles to it, containing three or 
four grooves to hold the pen, still dif¬ 
ferent figures will be obtained. A novel 
effect is made by fastening two pens 
to this arm at the same time, one filled 
with red ink and the other with black 
ink. The designs will be quite dissim¬ 
ilar and may be one traced over the 
other or one within the other accord¬ 
ing to the relative position of the pens. 

Again change the size of the guide 
wheel and note the effect. If the 
diameter of the table is a multiple of 
that of the guide wheel, a complete fig¬ 
ure of few lobes will result as shown 
by the one design in the lower right- 
hand corner of the illustration. With 


a very flexible belt tightener an ellip¬ 
tical guide wheel may be used. The 
axis may be taken at one of the foci 
or at the intersection of the axis of the 
ellipse. 

The most complicated adjustment is 
to mount the table on the face of an¬ 
other disc, table and disc revolving in 
opposite directions. It will go through 
a long series of changes without com¬ 
pleting any figure and then will repeat 
itself. The diameters may be made to 
vary from the fraction of an inch to as 
large a diameter as the size of the table 
permits. The designs given here were 
originally traced on drawing paper 6 in. 
square. 

Eemarkable and complex as are the 
curves produced in this manner, yet 
they are but the results obtained by 
combining simultaneously two simple 
motions as may be shown in the fol¬ 
lowing manner: Hold the table sta¬ 
tionary and the pen will trace an oval. 
But if the guide wheel is secured in a 
fixed position and the table is revolved 
a circle will be the result. 

So much for the machine shown in 






































438 



Specimen Scrolls Made on the Wondergraph 


Fig. 1. The number of the modifica¬ 
tions of this simple contrivance is lim¬ 
ited only by the ingenuity of the maker. 
Fig. 2 speaks for itself. One end of 
the ruler is fastened in such a way as 
to have a to-and-fro motion over the 
arc of a circle and the speed of the 
table is geared down by the addition of 
another wheel with a small pulley at¬ 
tached. This will give many new de¬ 
signs. In Fig. 3 the end of the ruler 
is held by a rubber band against the 
edge of a thin triangular piece of wood 
which is attached to the face of the 
fourth wheel. By substituting other 
plain figures for "the triangle, or out¬ 
lining them with small finishing nails, 
many curious modifications such as are 
shown by the two smallest designs in 
the illustrations may be obtained. It 
is necessary, if symmetrical designs are 
to be made, that the fourth wheel and 
the guide wheel have the same diameter. 

In Fig. 4, Y and W are vertical 
wheels which may be successfully con¬ 


nected with the double horizontal drive 
wheel if the pulley between the two has 
a wide flange and is set at the proper 
angle. A long strip of paper is given 
a uniform rectilinear motion as the 
string attached to it is wound around 
the axle, V. The pen, P, has a motion 
compounded of two simultaneous mo¬ 
tions at right angles to each other given 
by the two guide wheels. Designs such 
as shown as a border at the top and 
bottom of the illustration are obtained 
in this way. If the vertical wheels are 
disconnected and the paper fastened in 
place the well known Lissajou’s curves 
are obtained. These curves may be 
traced by various methods, but this ar¬ 
rangement is about the simplest of them 
all. The design in this case will change 
as the ratio of the diameters of the two 
guide wheels are changed. 

These are only a few of the many 
adjustments that are possible. Fre¬ 
quently some new device will give a 
figure which is apparently like one ob- 



















439 


tained in some other way, yet, if yon 
will watch the way in which the two are 
commenced and developed into the com¬ 
plete design yon will find they are 
formed qnite differently. 

The average boy will take delight in 
making a wondergraph and in invent¬ 
ing the many improvements that are 
sure to suggest themselves to him. At 
all events it will not be time thrown 
away, for, simple as the contrivance is, 
it will aronse latent energies which may 
develop along more nsefnl lines in ma- 
tnrer years. 

-♦- 

How to Make a 110=Volt Trans¬ 
former 


Secure two magnets from a telephone 
bell, or a set of magnets wound for 
2,000 ohms. Mount them on a bar of 
brass or steel as shown in Fig. 1. Get 
an empty cocoa can and clean it good 
to remove all particles of cocoa and 
punch five holes in the cover, as shown 
in Fig. 2. The middle hole is to be 
used to fasten the cover to the brass 
bar with a bolt. The other four holes 
are for the wire terminals. A piece of 
rubber tubing must be placed over the 
wire terminals before inserting them 
in the holes. Fill the can with crude 
oil, or with any kind of oil except kero¬ 



Parts of the Transformer 


sene oil, and immerse the magnets in it 
by fitting the cover on tight (Fig. 3). 
The connections are made as shown in 
the diagram, Fig. 5. This device may 
be used on 110-volt current for electro¬ 


plating and small battery lamps, pro¬ 
vided the magnets are wound with wire 
no larger than No. 40.—Contributed by 
C. M. Rubsan, Muskogee, Okla. 


Experiment with a Vacuum 


Take any kitchen utensil used for 
frying purposes—an ordinary skillet, 
or spider, works best—having a smooth 


inner bottom surface, and turn in water 
to the depth of J in. Cut a piece of 
cardboard circular to fit the bottom of 
the spider and make a hole in the cen¬ 
ter 4 in. in diameter. The hole will 
need to correspond to the size of the 
can used. It should be 1 in. less in 
diameter than that of the can. Place 
this cardboard in the bottom of the 
spider under the water. A 2-qt. syrup 
can or pail renders the best demonstra¬ 
tion, although good results may be ob¬ 
tained" from the use of an ordinary to¬ 
mato can. The edge of the can must 
have no indentations, so it will fit per¬ 
fectly tight all around on the card¬ 
board. Place the can bottom side up 
and evenly over the hole in the card¬ 
board. Put a sufficient weight on the 
can to prevent it moving on the card¬ 
board, but not too heavy, say, 1 lb. 

Place the spider with its adjusted 
contents upon a heated stove. Soon 
the inverted can will begin to agitate. 
When this agitation finally ceases re¬ 
move the spider from the stove, being 
careful not to move the can, and if the 
quickest results are desired, apply snow, 
ice or cold water to the surface of the 
can until the sides begin to flatten. 

The spider with its entire contents 













































440 


may now be lifted by taking hold of 
the can. When the vacuum is com¬ 
plete the sides of the can will sudden¬ 
ly collapse, and sometimes, with a con¬ 
siderable report, jump from the spider. 

The cause of the foregoing phenom¬ 
enon is that the circular hole in the 
cardboard admits direct heat from the 
surface of the spider. This heat causes 
the air in the can to expand, which is 
allowed to escape by agitation, the 
water and the cardboard acting as a 
valve to prevent its re-entrance. When 
the enclosed air is expelled by the heat 
and a vacuum is formed by the cooling, 
the above results are obtained as de¬ 
scribed.—Contributed by N. J. Mc¬ 
Lean. 


The Making of Freak Photographs 


An experiment that is interesting 
and one that can be varied at the pleas¬ 
ure of the operator, is the taking of his 
own picture. The effect secured, as 
shown in the accompanying sketch, re¬ 
produced in pen and ink from a pho¬ 
tograph, is that made by the photog¬ 
rapher himself. At first it seems im¬ 
possible to secure such a picture, but 
when told that a mirror was used the 
process is then known to be a simple 
one. 

The mirror is set in such a way as 
to allow the camera and operator, when 
standing directly in front of it, to be 



Photographing the Photographer 


in a rather strong light. The camera 
is focused, shutter set and plate holder 
made ready. The focusing cloth is 
thrown over your head, the position 


taken as shown, and the exposure made 
by the pressure of the teeth on the bulb 
while held between them. 

- » ♦ ♦- 

Hand Car Made of Pipe and Fittings 


Although apparently complicated, 
the construction of the miniature hand 
car shown in the accompanying illus¬ 



tration is very simple. With a few ex¬ 
ceptions all the parts are short lengths 
of pipe and common tees, elbows and 
nipples. 

The wheels were manufactured for 
use on a baby carriage. The sprocket 
wheel and chain were taken from a 
discarded bicycle, which was also drawn 
upon for the cork handle used on the 
steering lever. The floor is made of 
1-in. white pine, 14 in. wide and 48 in. 
long, to which are bolted ordinary 
flanges to hold the framing and the 
propelling and steering apparatus to¬ 
gether. The axles were made from §- 
in. shafting. The fifth wheel consists 
of two small flanges working on the 
face surfaces. These flanges and the 
auxiliary steering rod are connected to 
the axles by means of holes stamped in 
the piece of sheet iron which encases 
the axle. The sheet iron was first prop¬ 
erly stamped and then bent around the 
axle. The levers for propelling and 
steering the car work in fulcrums made 

















441 


for use in lever valves. The turned 
wooden handles by which these levers 
are operated were inserted through 
holes drilled in the connecting tees. 
The working joint for the steering and 
hand levers consists of a \ by § by §- 
in. tee, a -J by f-in. cross and a piece of 
rod threaded on both ends and screwed 
into the tee. The cross is reamed and, 
with the rod, forms a bearing. 

The operation of this little hand car 
is very similar in principle to that of 
the ordinary tricycle, says Domestic 
Engineering. The machine can be pro¬ 
pelled as fast as a boy can run. It re¬ 
sponds readily to the slightest move¬ 
ment of the steering lever. 


to the front rail and also connected to 
the back post by a bearer, 4 in. deep by 
1^ in. thick. This bearer is tenoned 
to the back post. 

Eig. 3 shows a sectional view of the 
bearer joint to front leg, and also the 
half-round seat battens resting on the 
bearer, also showing them with their 
edges planed. It is advisable to have 
a space between the edges of each bat¬ 
ten, say about ■£ in., to allow rain¬ 
water to drain. The ends of the seat 
battens are pared away to fit the trans¬ 
verse rails neatly as shown in Fig. 2. 
The struts for the post range in diam¬ 
eter from 1J in. to 2 in. The ends of 
the struts are pared to fit the posts and 



Rustic Seat and Details of Construction 


How to Make a Rustic Seat 


The rustic settee illustrated in Fig. 1 
may be made 6 ft. long, which will ac¬ 
commodate four average-sized persons. 
It is not advisable to exceed this length, 
as then it would look out of proportion, 
says the Wood-Worker. Select the ma¬ 
terial for the posts, and for preference 
branches that are slightly curved, as 
shown in the sketch. The front posts 
are about 3J in. in diameter by 2 ft. 4 
in. long. The back posts are 3 ft. 4 in. 
high, while the center post is 3 ft. 8 in. 
in height. The longitudinal and trans¬ 
verse rails are about 3 in. in diameter 
and their ends are pared away to fit 
the post to which they are connected 
by 1-in. diameter dowels. This method 
is shown in Fig. 4. The dowel holes 
are bored at a distance of 1 ft. 2J in, 
up from the lower ends of posts. The 
front center leg is partially halved 


rails, and are then secured with two 
or three brads at each end. 

Select curved pieces, about 2^ in. in 
diameter, for the arm rests and back 
rails; while the diagonally placed fill¬ 
ing may be about 2 in. in diameter. 
Start with the shortest lengths, cut¬ 
ting them longer than required, as the 
paring necessary to fit them to the rails 
and posts shortens them a little. Brad 
them in position as they are fitted, and 
try to arrange them at regular inter¬ 
vals. 

-» ♦ 4 - 

Motorists that suffer with cold hands 
while driving their cars may have relief 
by using a steering wheel that is pro¬ 
vided with electric heat. An English 
invention describes a steering wheel 
with a core that carries two electrically 
heated coils insulated one from the 
other and from the outer rim. 




















442 


Homemade Workbench 

By C. E. McKINNEY, Jr. 


The first appliance necessary for the 
boy’s workshop is a workbench. The 
average boy that desires to construct 
his own apparatus as much as possible 
can make the bench as described here¬ 
in. Four pieces of 2 by 4-in. pine are 
cut 23 in. long for the legs, and a tenon 
made on each end of them, y 2 in. thick, 
3 y 2 in. wide and 1 y 2 in. long, as shown 


shown at HH. Four % by 6-in. bolts 
are placed in the holes bored, and the 
joints are drawn together as shown at 
J. The ends of the two braces must 
be sawed off perfectly square to make 
the supports stand up straight. 

In making this part of the bench be 
sure to have the joints fit closely and 
to draw the bolts up tight on the 



at A and B, Fig. 1. The crosspieces 
at the top and bottom of the legs are 
made from the same material and cut 
20 in. long. A mortise is made l 1 /^ in. 
from each end of these pieces and in 
the narrow edge of them, as shown at 
C and D, Fig. 1. The corners are then 
cut sloping from the edge of the leg 
out and to the middle of the piece, as 
shown. When each pair of legs are 
fitted to a pair of crosspieces they will 
form the two supports for the bench. 
These supports are held together and 
braced with two braces or connecting 
pieces of 2 by 4-in. pine, 24 in. long. 
The joints are made between the ends 
of these pieces and the legs by boring 
a hole through each leg and into the 
center of each end of the braces to a 
depth of 4 in., as shown at J, Fig. 2. 
On the back side of the braces bore 
holes, intersecting the other holes, for 
a place to insert the nut of a bolt, as 


stretchers. There is nothing quite so 
annoying as to have the bench support 
sway while work is being done on its 
top. It would be well to add a cross 
brace on the back side to prevent any 
rocking while planing boards, if the 
bench is to be used for large work. 

The main top board M, Fig. 2, may 
be either made from one piece of 2 by 
12-in. plank, 3% ft. long, or made up 
of 14 strips of maple, % in- thick by 2 
in. wide and 3% ft. long, set on edge, 
each strip glued and screwed to its 
neighbor. When building up a top 
like this be careful to put the strips to¬ 
gether with the grain running in the 
same direction so the top may be 
planed smooth. The back board N is 
the same length as the main top board 
M, 8% in. wide and only % in. thick, 
which is fitted into a in. rabbet in 
the back of the board M. These boards 
form the top of the bench, and are 

















































443 


fastened to the top pieces of the sup¬ 
ports with long screws. The board E 
is 10 in. wide and nailed to the back 
of the bench. On top of this board 
and at right angles with it is fastened 
a 2-J-in. board, F. These two boards 
are J in. thick and 3^ ft. long. Holes 
are bored or notches are cut in the pro¬ 
jecting board, F, to hold tools. 

Details of the vise are shown in Fig. 
3, which is composed of a 2 by 6-in. 
block 12 in. long, into which is fast¬ 
ened an iron bench screw, S. Two 
guide rails, GGr, J- by 1J in. and 20 in. 
long, are fastened into mortises of the 
block as shown at KK, and they slide 
in corresponding mortises in a piece of 
2 by 4-in. pine bolted to the under side 
of the main top board as shown at L. 
The bench screw nut is fastened in the 
2 by 4-in. piece, L, between the two 
mortised holes. This piece, L, is se¬ 
curely nailed to one of the top cross 
pieces, C, of the supports and to a piece 
of 2 by 4-in. pine, P, that is bolted to 
the under sides of the top' boards at 
the end of the bench. The bolts and 
the bench screw can be purchased from 
any hardware store for less than one 
dollar. 

-» ♦ ♦- 

Forming Coils to Make Flexible 
Wire Connections 


When connections are made to bells 
and batteries with small copper wires 
covered with cotton or silk, it is neces¬ 
sary to have a coil in a short piece of 
the line to make it flexible. A good 
way to do this is to provide a short rod 
about A in. in diameter cut with a 
slit in one end to hold the wire and a 
loop made on the other end to turn with 
the fingers. The end of the wire is 



Forming Wire Coils 


placed in the., slit and the coil made 
around the rod by turning with the 
loop end. 


Photographing the North Star 


The earth revolving as upon an axis 
is inclined in such a position that it 
points toward the North star. To an 
observer in the northern hemisphere 
the effect is the same as if the heavens 



Photograph of the North Star 


revolved with the North star as a 
center. A plate exposed in a camera 
which is pointed toward that part of 
the sky on a clear night records that 
effect in a striking manner. The ac¬ 
companying illustration is from a pho¬ 
tograph taken with an exposure of 
about three hours, and the trace of 
the stars shown on the plate by a series 
of concentric circles are due to the rota¬ 
tion of the earth. 

The bright arc of the circle nearest 
the center is the path of the North 
star. The other arcs are the impres¬ 
sions left by neighboring stars, and it 
will be noticed that their brightness 
varies with their relative brilliancy. 
Many are so faint as to be scarcely dis¬ 
tinguished, and, of course, telescopic 
power would reveal myriads of heav¬ 
enly bodies which leave no trace on a 
plate in an ordinary camera. The 
North or pole star is commonly con¬ 
sidered at a point directly out from 
the axis of the earth, but the photo¬ 
graph shows that it is not so located. 
The variation is known astronomically 
to be 1J deg. There is a slight ir¬ 
regularity in the position of the earth’s 













444 


axis, but the changes are so slow as 
to be noticed only by the lapse of a 
thousand years. Five thousand years 
ago the pole star was Draconis, and in 
eighteen thousand years it will be 
Lyrae. We have direct evidence of the 
change of the earth’s axis in one of 
the Egyptian pyramids where an aper¬ 
ture marked the position of the pole 
star in ancient times, and from this it 
is now deviated considerable. 

This experiment is within the reach 
of everyone owning a camera. The 
photograph shown was taken by an 
ordinary instrument, using a standard 
plate of common speed. The largest 
stop was used and the only requirement 
beyond this is to adjust the camera in 
a position at the proper inclination and 
to make the exposure for as long as 
desired. On long winter nights the ex¬ 
posure may be extended to 12 hours, in 
which event the curves would be length¬ 
ened to full half-circles. 

The North star is one of the easiest 
to locate in the entire heavens. The 
constellation known as the Great Dip¬ 
per is near by, and the two stars that 
mark the corners of the dipper on the 
extremity farthest from the handle lie 
in a line that passes across the North 
star. These two stars in the Great 
Dipper are called the pointers. The 
North Star is of considerable brilliancy, 
though by no means the brightest in 
that part of the heavens.—Contributed 
by C. S. B. 


How to Relight a Match 


A match may be a small thing on 
which to practice economy and yet a 
great many 
times one wishes 
to relight a 
match either for 
economy or ne¬ 
cessity. The usu¬ 
al method is to 
place the burnt 
portion of the 
match in the 
flame to be re¬ 
lighted as shown 


in Fig. 1. It is very hard to relight 
the charred end and usually burnt 
fingers are the result of pushing the 
match farther in the flame. Hold the 
burnt end in the fingers and place the 
other end in the flame as shown in Fig. 
2. A light will be secured quickly and 
the flame will only follow the stick to 
the old burnt portion. 

-» » ♦- 

Home-Made Hand Drill 


In the old kitchen tool box I found a 
rusty egg beater of the type shown 
in Fig. 1. A shoemaker friend do¬ 



nated a pegging awl, Fig. 2, discarded 
by him due to a broken handle. With 
these two pieces of apparatus I made a 
hand drill for light work in wood or 
metal. By referring to Fig. 3 the 
chuck, A, with stem, B, were taken 
from the awl. The long wire beater 
Was taken from the beater frame and 
a wire nail, C, soldered to the frame, 
D, in the place of the wire. The flat 
arms were cut off and shaped as shown 
by E. The hole in the small gear, G, 
was drilled out and a tube, F, -fitted 
and soldered to both the gear and the 
arms E. This tube, with the gear and 
arms, was slipped over the nail, C, 
then a washer and, after cutting to the 
proper length the nail was riveted to 
make a loose yet neat fit for the small 
gear. The hand drill was then com¬ 
pleted by soldering the stem, B, of the 
chuck to the ends of the flat arms E. 
Drills were made by breaking off sew¬ 
ing-machine needles above the eye as 
























445 


shown in Fig. 4 at A, and the end 
ground to a drill point.—Contributed 
by E. B. J., Shippensburg, Pa. 

-»-♦ c- 

Howto Make a Stationary Windmill 


A windmill that can be made sta¬ 
tionary and will run regardless of the 



direction of the wind is here illus¬ 
trated. Mills of this kind can be built 
of larger size and in some localities 
have been used for pumping water. 

Two semi-circular surfaces are se¬ 
cured to the axle at right angles to each 
other and at 45 deg. angle with that 
of the axle as shown in Fig. 2. This 
axle and wings are mounted in bearings 
on a solid or stationary stand or frame. 
By mounting a pulley on the axle with 
the wings it can be used to run toy 
machinery. 


Electric Anaesthesia 


It is a well known fact that mag¬ 
netism is used to demagnetize a watch, 
and that frost is drawn out of a frozen 
member of the body by the application 
of snow. Heat is also drawn out of a 
burned hand by holding it close to the 
fire, then gradually drawing it away. 
The following experiment will show 
how a comparatively feeble electric cur¬ 
rent can undo the work of a strong one. 

I once tried to electrocute a rat 
which was caught in a wire basket trap 
and accidentally discovered a painless 
method. I say painless, because the 
rodent does not object to a second t or 
third experiment after recovering, and 


is apparently rigid and without feeling 
while under its influence. 

To those who would like to try the 
experiment I will say that my outfit 
consisted of an induction coil with a 
f-in. iron core about 3 in. long. The 
primary coil was wound with four lay¬ 
ers of No. 20 wire and the secondary 
contains 4 oz. No. 32 wire, and used 
on one cell of bichromate of potash 
plunge battery. The proper amount of 
current used can be determined by giv¬ 
ing the rodent as much as a healthy 
man would care to take. Fasten one 
secondary electrode to the trap contain¬ 
ing the rat and with a wire nail fast¬ 
ened to the other terminal, hold the vi¬ 
brator of the coil with your finger and 
let the rat bite on the nail and while 
doing so release the vibrator. In three 
seconds the rat will be as rigid as if 
dead and the wires can be removed. 

Now connect your wires to the pri¬ 
mary binding-posts of the coil and 
wind the end of one of them around the 
rat’s tail and start the vibrator. Touch 
the other terminal to the rat’s ear and 
nose. In a few minutes he will be as 
lively as ever.—Contributed by Chas. 
Haeusser, Albany, N. Y. 


A Simple Battery Rheostat 


A spring from an old shade roller is 
mounted on a board 4 in. wide, 9 in. 
long and § in. thick. A binding-post 
is fastened to this board at each end, 
to which is attached the ends of the 
spring, as shown in Fig. 1. The temper 
of a small portion of each end of the 

























446 


spring will need to be drawn. This 
can be accomplished by heating over 
an alcohol lamp or in a fire and allow¬ 
ing it to cool slowly. The ends are 
then shaped to fit the binding-posts. 
A wire is connected to one of the bind¬ 
ing-posts and a small square piece of 
copper is attached to the other end of 
the wire, as shown in Fig. 2. When 
this device is placed in a circuit the 
current can be regulated by sliding the 
small square copper piece along the 
spring.—Contributed by H. D. Har¬ 
kins, St. Louis, Mo. 


A Frame for Drying Films 


No doubt many amateur photog¬ 
raphers are troubled about drying 
films and to keep 
them from curl¬ 
ing. The problem 
may be solved in 
the following way: 
Make a rectangu¬ 
lar frame out of 
pine wood, J by J 
in., as shown in 
the sketch. It is 
made a little wid¬ 
er and a little 
shorter than the 
film to be dried. 
This will allow 
the end of the 
film to be turned over at each end of 
the frame and fastened with push pins. 
Do not stretch the film when putting 
it on the frame as it shrinks in dry¬ 
ing. The film will dry quicker and 
will be flat when dried by using this 
frame.—Contributed by Elmer H. 
Flehr, Ironton, Ohio. 


A Home-Made Novelty Clock 


This clock that is shown in the ac¬ 
companying engraving is made in scroll 
work, the cathedral and towers being 
of white maple, the base is of walnut 
with mahogany trimmings, all finished 
in their natural colors. It has 11 bells 
in the two towers at the sides and 13 



miniature electric lamps of different 
colors on two electric circuits. The 
clock is operated by a small motor re¬ 
ceiving its power from dry cell bat¬ 
teries. This motor turns a brass cyl¬ 
inder over which runs a continuous roll 
of perforated paper similar to that used 
on a pianola. A series of metal fingers, 
connected by wires to the bells, press 
lightly on this brass roll and are in¬ 
sulated from the roll by the perforated 
paper passing between. When a per¬ 
foration is reached a finger will make 
a contact with the brass roll for an 
instant which makes a circuit with the 
magnet of an electric hammer in its 
respective bell or forms the Circuit 
which lights the electric bulbs as the 
case may be. 

At each hour and half hour as the 
clock strikes, the motor is started auto¬ 
matically and the chimes sound out the 
tunes while the colored lights are 
turned on and off; two small doors in 
the cathedral open and a small figure 
comes out while the chimes are playing, 
then returns and the doors are closed.—• 
Contributed by C. V. Brokenicky, Blue 
Rapids, Kansas. 




































Fourth-of-July Catapult 


Among the numerous exciting 
amusements in which boys may par¬ 
ticipate during the Fourth-of-July cel¬ 
ebration is to make a cannon that will 
shoot life-sized dummies dressed in old 
clothes. Building the cannon, as de¬ 
scribed in the following, makes it safe 
to fire and not dangerous to others, 
provided care is taken to place it at an 
angle of 45 deg. and not to fire when 
anyone is within its range. The pow¬ 
der charge is in the safest form possi¬ 
ble, as it is fired with a blow from a 
hammer instead of lighting a fuse. If 
the cannon is made according to direc¬ 
tions, there cannot possibly be any ex¬ 
plosion. 

The materials used in the construc¬ 
tion of the catapult may be found in 
almost any junk pile, and the only 
work required, outside of what can be 
done at home, is to have a few threads 
cut on the pieces of pipe. The fittings 
can be procured ready to attach, ex¬ 
cept for drilling a hole for the firing 
pin. 


tapped in the center for a 1-in. pipe. 
Thread both ends of a 1-in. pipe that 
is 4 in. long, Fig. 3, and turn one end 
securely into the threaded hole of the 
cap. This pipe should project hi. 
inside of the cap. Fit a cap, Fig. 4, 
loosely on the other end of the 1-in. 
pipe. A hole is drilled into the center 
of this small cap just large enough to 
receive a 6-penny wire nail, B, Fig. 4. 

This completes the making of the 
cannon and the next step is to con¬ 
struct a dummy which can be dressed 
in old clothes. Cut out two round 
blocks of wood from hard pine or oak 
that is about 3 in. thick, as shown in 
Fig. 5. The diameter of these blocks 
should be about % in. less than the 
hole in the cannon, so they will slide 
easily. In the center of each block 
bore a %-in. hole. Secure an iron rod, 
about 4 ft. long, and make a ring at 
one end and thread 4 in. of the other. 
Slip one of the circular blocks on the 
rod and move it up toward the ring 
about 14 in. Turn a nut on the threads, 



Homemade Cannon Which will Hurl a Life-Size Dummy 100 Ft. through the Air 


Secure a piece of common gas pipe, 
4 to 6 in. in diameter, the length being 
from 18 to 24 in. Old pipe may be 
used if it is straight. Have a machin¬ 
ist cut threads on the outside of one 
end, as shown in Fig. 1, and fit an iron 
cap, Fig. 2 , tightly on the threaded end 
of the pipe. The cap is drilled and 


stopping it about 3% in. from the end 
of the rod. Slip the other circular piece 
of wood on the rod and up against the 
nut, and turn on another nut to hold 
the wooden block firmly in its place at 
the end of the rod. If the rod is flattened 
at the place where the upper block is 
located, it will hold tight. These are 
















448 


shown in Fig. 5. Take some iron wire 
about -J in. in diameter and make a 
loop at the top of the rod for the head. 
Wire this loop to the ring made in the 
rod and make the head about this loop 
by using canvas or gunny cloth sewed 
up forming a bag into which is stuffed 
either excelsior, paper or hay. The 
arms are made by lashing with fine wire 
or strong hemp, a piece of wood 1 in. 
square and 20 in. long, or one cut in 
the shape shown in Fig. 6, to the rod. 
Place the wood arms close to the bottom 
of the head. Make a triangle of wire 
and fasten it and the cross arm securely 
to the top of the rod to keep them from 
slipping down. A false face, or one 
painted on white cloth, can be sewed 
on the stuffed bag. An old coat and 
trousers are put on the frame to com¬ 
plete the dummy. If the clothing is 
not too heavy and of white material so 
much the better. To greatly increase 
the spectacular flight through the air, 
a number of different colored streamers, 
6 or 8 in. wide and several feet in 
length made from bunting, can be at¬ 
tached about the waist of the dummy. 
The complete dummy should not weigh 
more than 6 lb. 

The cannon is mounted on a board 
with the cap end resting against a cleat 
which is securely nailed to the board 
and then bound tightly with a rope as 
shown in Fig. 8. Lay one end of the 
board on the ground and place the 
other on boxes or supports sufficiently 
high to incline it at an angle of about 
45 deg. Enough of the board should 
project beyond the end of the cannon 
on which to lay the dummy. When 
completed as ‘described, it is then ready 
to load and fire. Clear away everyone 
in front and on each side of the cannon, 
as the dummy will fly from 50 to 100 ft. 
and no one must be in range of its 
flight. This is important, as the rod 
of the frame holding the clothes will 
penetrate a board at short range. An 
ordinary shot gun cartridge of the 
paper shell type is used for the charge 
and it must be loaded with powder 
only. Coarse black powder is the best, 
but any size will do. When loading 
the rod with the wooden blocks, on 


which the dummy is attached, do not 
place the end block against the breech 
end of the cannon, leave about 2 or 3 
in. between the end of the cannon and 
the block. Insert the cartridge in the 
1-in. pipe. The cartridge should fit 
the pipe snug, which it will do if the 
proper size is secured. Screw on the 
firing-cap, insert the wire nail firing- 
pin until it rests against the firing-cap 
of the cartridge. If the range is clear 
the firing may be done by giving the 
nail a sharp rap with a hammer. A 
loud report will follow with a cloud of 
smoke and the dummy will be seen fly¬ 
ing through the air, the arms, legs and 
streamers fluttering, which presents a 
most realistic and life-like apearance. 
The firing may be repeated any number 
of times in the same manner. 


How to Make a Miniature Volcano 


A toy volcano that will send forth 
flames and ashes with lava streaming 
down its sides in real volcanic action 
can be made by any boy without any 
more danger than firing an ordinary 
fire-cracker. A mound of sand or earth 
is built up about 1 ft. high in the shape 
of a volcano. Eoll up a piece of heavy 
paper, making a tube 5 in. long and 
1J in. in diameter. This tube of paper 
is placed in the top of the mound by 
first setting it upon a flat sheet of 
paper and building up the sand or 






449 


earth about the sides until it is all cov¬ 
ered excepting the top opening. This 
is to keep all dampness away from the 
mixture to be placed within. 

A fuse from a fire-cracker, or one 
made by winding some powder in tissue 
paper, is placed in the paper tube of 
the volcano with one end extending 
over the edge. Get some potash from 
a drug store and be sure to state the 
purpose for which it is wanted, as there 
are numerous kinds of potash that will 
not be suitable. An equal amount of 
sugar is mixed with the potash and 
placed in the paper tube. On top of 
this put a layer of pure potash and on 
this pour some gun powder. This com¬ 
pletes the volcano and it only remains 
for the fuse to be lighted and action 
will begin with an explosion which 
sends fire, smoke and sparks upward. 
Flames will follow and the lava pours 
down the sides of the mound. 


Wire Loop Connections for Battery 
Binding=Posts 


The trouble with battery binding- 
post connections can he 
avoided by winding the 
bare end of the connect¬ 
ing wire around the 
binding-post screw and 
then back around its 
extending length as 
shown in the sketch. 

Always screw down permanent connec¬ 
tions with pliers. 


Melting Metal in the Flame of a 
Match 


The flame of an ordinary match has 
a much higher temperature than is gen¬ 
erally known and will melt cast-iron 
or steel filings. Try it by striking a 
match and sprinkle the filings through 
the flame. Sputtering sparks like gun¬ 
powder will be the result of the melt¬ 
ing metal. 


The squirrel slaughter of Russia 
amounts to 25,000,000 per year. 


Landscape Drawing Made Easy 


With this device anyone, no matter 
how little his artistic ability may be, 
can draw accurately and quickly any 
little bit of scenery or other subject 
and get everything in the true perspec¬ 
tive and in the correct proportion. 



Drawing with the Aid of Reflecting Glasses 


No lens is' required for making this 
camera—just a plain mirror set at an 
angle of 45 deg., with a piece of ordi¬ 
nary glass underneath, a screen with a 
peek hole and a board for holding the 
drawing paper. The different parts 
may be fastened together by means of 
a box frame, or may be hinged together 
to allow folding up when carrying and 
a good tripod of heavy design should 
be used for supporting it. In order to 
get the best results the screen should 
be blackened on the inside and the eye¬ 
piece should be blackened on the side 
next to the eye. A piece of black card¬ 
board placed over the end of the eye¬ 
piece and perforated with a pin makes 
an excellent peek hole. 

In operation the rays of light com¬ 
ing from any given object, such as the 
arrow AB, strike the inclined mirror 
and are reflected downward. On strik¬ 
ing the inclined glass a portion of the 
light is again reflected and the rays en¬ 
tering the eye of the operator produce 
the virtual image on the paper as 
shown. The general outlines may be 
sketched in quickly, leaving the details 
to be worked up later. This arrange¬ 
ment may be used for interior work 
when the illumination is good. 

















450 


Irrigating with Tomato Cans 

The following is an easy and effect¬ 
ive way to start plants in dry weather: 
Sink an ordinary tomato can, with a 
%-in. hole % in. 
from the bot¬ 
tom, in the 
ground so that 
the hole will be 
near the roots 
of the plant. 
Tamp the dirt 
around both 
plant and can, 
and fill the lat¬ 
ter with water. 
Keep the can filled until the plant is 
out of danger.—Contributed by L. L. 
Schweiger, Kansas City, Mo. 



Fountain for an Ordinary Pen 

Take two steel pens, not the straight 
kind, and place them together, one 
above the other, in the penholder. 



Two Pens in Holder 


bait at the bottom of the hole, the sharp 
point will catch it when it tries to 
back out. Almost anyone can make 
this trap in a short time, and it will 
catch the mice as surely as a more 
elaborate trap. 


Clear Wax Impressions from Seals 

A die must be slightly damp to make 
clear impressions on sealing wax and to 
keep it from sticking to the wax. A 
very handy way to moisten the die is 
to use a pad made by tacking two 
pieces of blotting paper, and one of 



cloth to a wooden block of suitable 
size, and saturate the blotters with 
water before using. Stamp the die on 
the pad and then on the hot wax. The 
result will be a clear, readable impres¬ 
sion.—Contributed by Fred Schu¬ 
macher, Brooklyn, N. Y. 


With one dip of ink 60 or 70 words 
may be written. This saves time and 
the arrangement also prevents the ink 
from dropping off the pen.—Contrib¬ 
uted by L. M. Lytle, Kerrmoor, Pa. 


Homemade Mousetrap 

Bore a 1-in. hole, about 2 in. deep, 
in a block of wood and drive a small 
nail with a sharp point at an angle so 
it will project into the hole about half 
way between the top and bottom, and 
in the center of the hole, as shown. 



File the end very sharp and bend it 
down so that when the mouse pushes 
its head past it in trying to get the 


A Window Stick 

Although the windows in factories 
and houses are usually provided with 
weights, yet the stick shown in the 
sketch will be found very handy in case 
all of the windows are not so equipped. 
It is made of a piece of pine wood long 



B 


Notches in Stick 

enough to hold the lower sash at a 
height even with the bottom of the 
upper, and about 1% or 2 in. wide. 
Notches may be cut in the stick as 
shown, each being wide enough to 
firmly hold the sash. Thus, with the 
stick illustrated, the sash may be held 
at three different heights on the side 
A, and at still another on the side B. 
—Contributed by Katharine D. Morse, 
Syracuse, N. Y. 















451 


How to Make a Canoe 


A practical and serviceable canoe, 
one that is inexpensive, can be built by 
any boy, who can wield hammer and 
saw, by closely following the instruc¬ 
tions and drawings, given in this article. 

It is well to study 
these carefully before 
begihning the actual 
work. Thus an under¬ 
standing will be gained 
of how the parts fit to¬ 
gether, and of the way 
to proceed with the 
work. 

Dimensioned draw¬ 
ings of the canoe and 
molds are contained in 
Fig. 1. The boat is 
built on a temporary 
base, A, Fig. 2, which 
is a board, 14 ft. 1 in. 
long, 3 in. wide and 1 y 2 
in. thick. This base is 
fastened to the trestles and divided 
into four sections, the sections on each 
side of the center being 4 ft. long. 

The next thing to be considered are 
the molds (Fig. 3). These are made 
of 1-in. material. Scrap pieces may 
be found that can be used for these 
molds. The dimensions given in Fig. 
1 are for one-half of each form as 
shown in Fig. 3, under their respective 
letters. The molds are then tempo¬ 
rarily attached to the base on the di¬ 
vision lines. 

Proceed to make the curved ends as 
shown in Fig. 4. Two pieces of 


from a carriage or blacksmith’s shop. 
The pieces are bent by wrapping a 
piece of wire around the upper end 
and baseboard. The joint between the 
curved piece and the base is tempo- 



Canoe and Molds Details 


rary. Place a stick between the wires 
and twist them until the required 
shape is secured. If the wood does not 
bend readily, soak it in boiling water. 
The vertical height and the horizon¬ 
tal length of this bend are shown in 
Fig. 4. The twisted wire will give the 
right curve and hold the wood in shape 
until it is dry. 

The gunwales are the long pieces B, 
Fig. 2, at the top of the canoe. These 
are made of strips of ash, 15 ft. long, 
1 in. wide and 1 in. thick. Fasten them 
temporarily to the molds, taking care 
to have them snugly fit the notches 






Fig.3 


Shaping the Canoe 


straight-grained green elm, 32 in. long, 
1% in. wide and 1 in. thick, will be 
required. The elm can be obtained 


shown. The ends fit over the outside 
of the stem and stern pieces and are 
cut to form a sharp point, as shown 



















































452 


in Fig. 5. The ends of the gunwales 
are fastened permanently to the up¬ 
per ends of the bent stem and stern 
pieces with several screws. 


stem and stern pieces as shown in Fig. 
4. When this piece is fastened in 
place, the base can be removed. The 
seats are attached as shown in Fig. 8, 




Two other light strips, C and D, 
Fig. 2, are temporarily put in, and 
evenly spaced between the gunwales 
and the bottom board. These strips 
are used to give the form to the ribs, 
and are removed when they have 
served their purpose. 

The ribs are now put in place. They 
are formed of strips of well seasoned 
elm or hickory, soaked in boiling water 
until they bend without breaking or 
cracking. Each rib should be l 1 /^ in. 



Paddle Parts 

wide, % in. thick and long enough to 
reach the distance between the gun¬ 
wales after the bend is made. The ribs 
are placed 1 in. apart. Begin by plac¬ 
ing a rib in the center of the base and 
on the upper side. Nail it tempora¬ 
rily, yet securely, and then curve the 
ends and place them inside of the gun¬ 
wales, as shown in Fig. 6. Fasten the 
ends of the rib to the gunwales with 
1-in. galvanized brads. This method 
is used in placing all the ribs. When 
the ribs are set, remove the pieces C 
and D, Fig. 2, and the molds. 

A strip is now put in to take the 
place of the base. This strip is 1 % in. 
wide, % in. thick and long enough to 
reach the entire length of the bottom 
of the canoe. It is fastened with 
screws on the inside, as shown in Fig. 
7, and the ends are lap-jointed to the 


and the small pieces for each end are 
fitted as shown in Fig. 9. 

The frame of the canoe is now ready 
to be covered. This will require 5% 
yd. of extra-heavy canvas. Turn the 
framework of the canoe upside down 
and place the canvas on it. The cen¬ 
ter of the canvas is located and tacked 
to the center strip of the canoe at the 
points where ribs are attached. Cop¬ 
per tacks should be used. The canvas 
is then tacked to the ribs, beginning 
at the center rib and working toward 
each end, carefully drawing the can¬ 
vas as tightly as possibly and keeping 
it straight. At the ends the canvas is 
split in the center and lapped over the 
bent wood. The surplus canvas is cut 
off. A thin coat of glue is put on, to 
shrink the cloth and make it water¬ 
proof. 

The glue should be powdered and 
brought into liquid form in a double 
boiler. A thin coat of this is applied 
with a paintbrush. A small keel made 
of a strip of wood is placed on the 
bottom to protect it when making a 
landing on sand and stones in shallow 



Fig.13 

A Single Paddle 


water. When the glue is thoroughly 
dry the canvas is covered with two 
coats of paint, made up in any color 
with the best lead and boiled linseed 













































453 


oil. The inside is coated with spar 
varnish to give it a wood color. 

The paddles may be made up in two 
ways, single or double. The double 
paddle has a hickory pole, 7 ft. long 
and 2 in. in diameter, for its center 
part. The paddle is made as shown 
in Fig. 10, of ash or cypress. It is 12 
in. long, and 8 in. wide at the widest 
part. The paddle end fits into a notch 
cut in the end of the pole (Fig. 11). 


A shield is made of a piece of tin or 
rubber and placed around the pole 
near the paddle to prevent the water 
from running to the center as the pole 
is tipped from side to side. The com¬ 
plete paddle is shown in Fig. 12. A 
single paddle is made as shown in Fig. 
13. This is made of ash or any other 
tough wood. The dimensions given 
in the sketch are sufficient without a 
description. 


Thorns Used as Needles on a 
Phonograph 

Very sharp thorns can be used suc¬ 
cessfully as phonograph needles. 
These substitutes will reproduce sound 
very clearly and with beautiful tone. 
The harsh scratching of the ordinary 
needle is reduced to a minimum, and 
the thorn is not injurious to the record. 


Tool Hangers 

A tool rack that is serviceable for al¬ 
most any kind of a tool may be made 
* by placing rows of dif¬ 
ferent-size screw eyes 
on a wall close to the 
workbench, so that files, 
chisels, pliers and other 
tools, and the handles of 
hammers can be slipped 
through the eyes. 

A place for every tool 
saves time, and besides, 
when the tools are hung 
up separately, they are 
less likely to be dam¬ 
aged, than when kept 
together on the work¬ 
bench. 



Child’s Footrest on an Ordinary Chair 

Small chairs are enjoyed very much 
by children for the reason that they 
can rest their feet on the floor. In 
many households there are no small 
chairs for the youngsters, and they 
have to use larger ones. Two things 
result, the child’s legs become tired 


from dangling unsupported or by try¬ 
ing to support them on the stretchers, 
and the finish on the chair is apt to 



Footrest on Chair 


be scratched. The device shown in the 
sketch forms a footrest or step that 
can be placed on any chair. It can be 
put on or taken of! in a moment. Two 
suitable pieces of wood are nailed to¬ 
gether at an angle and a small notch 
cut out, as shown, to fit the chair 
stretcher. 


Drying Photo Postal Cards 


A novel idea for drying photo postal 
cards comes from a French magazine. 
The drying of the cards takes a long 
time on account of their thickness, but 
may be hastened by using corrugated 
paper for packing bottles as a drying 
stand. Curve the cards, printed side 
up, and place the ends between two 



Card on Dryer 


corrugations at a convenient distance 
apart. They will thus be held firmly 
while the air can circulate freely all 
around them. 















454 


Preserving Key Forms 

After losing a key or two and having 
some difficulty in replacing them, I 
used the method shown in the sketch 



Key Forms Cut in Paper 


to preserve the outlines for making 
new ones. All the keys I had were 
traced on a piece of paper and their 
forms cut out with a pair of shears. 
When a key was lost, another could 
thus be easily made by using the paper 
form as a pattern.—Contributed by 
Ernest Weaver, Santa Anna, Texas. 


Ordinary Pen Used as a Fountain Pen 

It is a very simple matter to make a 
good fountain pen out of an ordinary 
pen and holder. The device is in the 
form of an attachment readily con¬ 
nected to or removed from any ordi¬ 
nary pen and holder, although the 
chances are that when once used it 
will not be detached until a new pen 
is needed. 

Take the butt end of a quill, A, from 
a chicken, goose or turkey feather— 
the latter preferred as it will hold more 
ink—and clean out the membrane in 
it thoroughly with a wire or hatpin. 
Then make a hole in the tapered end 
of the quill just large enough to pull 
through a piece of cotton string. Tie 
a knot in one end of this string, B, and 
pull it through the small end of the 
quill until the knot chokes within, then 
cut off the string so that only *4 in. 
projects. Shave out a small stopper 
from a bottle cork for the large end 


Renewing Typewriter Ribbons 

Roll the ribbon on a spool and mean¬ 
while apply a little glycerine with a 
fountain-pen filler. Roll up tightly and 
lay aside for a week or ten days. Do 
not apply too much glycerine as this 
will make the ribbon sticky—a very 
little, well spread, is enough. The 
same application will also work well 
on ink pads.—Contributed by Earl R. 
Hastings, Corinth, Vt. 


Drinking Trough for Chickens 

A quickly made and sanitary drink¬ 
ing trough for chickens is formed of a 
piece of ordinary two or three-ply roof¬ 



ing paper. The paper is laid out as 
shown, and the edges are cemented 
with asphaltum and then tacked to the 
side of a fence or shed. 



Fountain Attachment 


of the quill. This completes the ink 
reservoir. 

Place the quill on top of the pen¬ 
holder C, so that its small end rests 
against the pen immediately above its 
eye. Pull the string through this eye. 
Securely bind the quill to the pen and 
holder with a thread, as shown, first 
placing under it a wedge-shaped sup¬ 
port of cork or wood, D, hollowed on 
both sides to fit the curved surfaces of 
the quill and holder. The illustration 
shows the detail clearly. 

To fill the reservoir place the pen 
upright on its point and dip a small 
cameks-hair brush or cloth-bound 
toothpick into the ink bottle and 
“scrape” off the ink it will hold on the 
inner edge of the quill. Cork tightly, 
and the device is ready for use. When 
not in use place the holder at an an¬ 
gle with the pen uppermost.—Contrib¬ 
uted by Chelsea C. Fraser, Saginaw, 
Michigan, 





















455 


How to Construct a Small Thermostat 


By R. A. McCLURE 


It is a well known fact, that there 
is a change in the dimensions of a 
piece of metal, due to a change in its 
temperature. This change in dimen¬ 
sions is not the same for all mate¬ 
rials ; it being much greater in some 


Such a combination of two metals 
constitutes a simple thermostat. If 
the movement of the free end of the 
combination be made to actuate a 
needle moving over a properly cal¬ 
ibrated scale, we have a simple form 



Fig.I Attaching Steel Pin 

Simple Thermostat 


jtt- 

irjKO,- 

1 


, A'holes Fis2 

/ZD 



*>> 

kt'H 




--- 7 " ---- 

a 

1 

H 

b o 

)A ( 


M 

re-< 

> 


.•I. •" 


7 " 

1 " I 7 " , 

l" 

rs"i 

[41 z\ 

1 ‘-a 

r^e 

rav e 



Fig.4 

Couple and Mounting Strip 


materials than in others, while in some 
there is practically no change. 

If two thin, narrow strips of dif¬ 
ferent metals, that contract or expand 
at different ratio due to a variation in 
temperature, be rigidly fastened to¬ 
gether at their ends, and the combina¬ 
tion then heated or cooled, the com¬ 
bined piece will have its shape changed. 
One of the pieces will increase in 
length more than the other, due to a 
rise in temperature, and this same 
piece will decrease in length more than 
the other when subjected to a decrease 
in temperature. 

If one end of this combined piece 
be rigidly clamped to a support, as 
shown in Fig. 1, and the combination 
then have its temperature changed, the 
free end will move to the right or left 
of its original position, depending upon 
which of the pieces changes in length 
the more. If there is a rise in tem¬ 
perature and the right-hand piece B 
increases in length faster than the left- 
hand piece A, the free end of the com¬ 
bined piece will move to the left of 
its original position. If, on the other 
hand, there is a decrease in temper¬ 
ature, the right-hand piece will decrease 
in length more than the left-hand 
piece, and the upper or free end 
will move to the right of its original 
position. 


of thermometer. If two electrical con¬ 
tacts, CC, be mounted on the right 
and left-hand sides of the upper end 
of the combined piece, as shown in Fig. 
1, we have a thermostat that may be 
used in closing an electrical circuit 
when the temperature of the room in 
which it is placed rises or falls a cer¬ 
tain value. These contacts should be 
so arranged that they can be moved 
toward or away from the combined 
piece independently. By adjusting the 
position of these contacts, the elec¬ 
trical circuit will be closed when the 
temperature of the thermostat has 
reached an experimentally predeter¬ 
mined value. 

The following description is that of 
a thermostat, constructed by the au¬ 
thor of this article, which gave very 
satisfactory results. First obtain a 
piece of steel, 6 in. long, % in. wide 
and 2/100 in. thick, and a piece of 
brass, 6 in. long, % in. wide and 3/100 
in. thick. Clean one side of each .of 
these pieces and tin them well with 
solder. Place the two tinned surfaces 
just treated in contact with each other 
and heat them until the solder on 
their surfaces melts and then allow 
them to cool. A better way would be 
to clamp the two thin pieces between 
two heavy metal pieces, and then heat 
the whole to such a temperature that 












































456 


the solder will melt, and then allow 
it to cool. This last method will give 
more satisfactory results than would 
be obtained if no clamps are used, as 
the thin metal pieces are liable to bend 


in Fig. 5. Now bend the piece, at the 
dotted line in Fig. 5, into the form 
shown in Fig. 6, making sure that the 
dimension given is correct. This piece 
can now be mounted upon the piece 


_ 

OICO» 

. k\ 


i v 


-MD 


J)|VD 

r 

-I'- 

-— 14 -* 

\Z" _ 


Fir. R 



Fig.5 



TT 

h-4--1 


J 

roi'J- lOlOO 

1 1 

1 


-e— 

) 

Fig.6 

3 ' . 

— 4 

* — 1& — - 


Fig.7 

Support for Couple, and Needle-Mounting Strip 



out of shape when they are heated, 
and as a result they will not be in 
contact with each other over their en¬ 
tire surfaces. After these pieces have 
been soldered together forming one 
piece, which we shall for convenience 
speak of as the couple, two small holes 
should be drilled in one end to be used 
in mounting it, and a notch cut in the 
other end, as shown in Fig. 2. 

Cut from some thin sheet brass, 
about 2/100 in. in thickness, two pieces, 
% in. wide and y 2 in. long. Bend these 
pieces of brass over a piece of hatpin 
wire, thus forming two U-shaped 
pieces. Cut off a piece of the hatpin, 
% in. long, and fasten it across the 
notched end of the couple by means of 
the U-shaped piece of brass, which 
should be soldered in place as shown 
in Fig. 3. All superfluous solder 
should then be cleaned from the 
couple and the steel pin. Now bend 
the couple so as to form a perfect half 
circle, the brass being on the inside. 

The base upon which this couple is 
to be mounted should be made as fol¬ 
lows: Obtain a piece of brass, 7 in. 
long, % in. wide, and % in. thick. In 
this piece drill holes, as indicated 
in Fig. 4, except A, which will be drilled 
later. Tap the holes B, C and D for 
%-in. machine screws. 

Cut from some %-in. sheet brass a 
piece, 1% in* long and % in. wide, to 
be used as a support for the couple. 
In one end of this piece drill two small 
holes, as indicated in Fig. 5, and tap 
them for i\-in. machine screws. In 
the opposite end cut a slot, whose 
dimensions correspond to those given 


shown in Fig. 4, by means of two brass 
machine screws placed in the holes B. 
The slot in the support for the couple 
will permit its being moved along the 
mounting strip, the purpose, of which 
will be shown later. 

Next cut another piece of %-in. 
brass, 2% in. long and % in. wide. In 
this piece drill two Vs-in. holes, as in¬ 
dicated in Fig. 7, and then bend it at 
the dotted lines into the form shown 
in Fig. 8. Mount this strip upon the 
main mounting strip by means of two 
brass machine screws placed in the 
holes C, so that the upper part is 
over the center-punch mark for the 
hole A in the main mounting strip. 

You are now ready to drill the hole 
A, which should be done as follows: 
Remove the piece you last mounted 
and then clamp the main mounting 
strip in the drill press so that the 
center-punch mark for the hole A is 
directly under the point of the drill. 
Then remount the piece you just re¬ 
moved, without disturbing the piece 
you clamped in the drill press, and 
drill a small hole through both pieces. 
This hole should be about 3/64 in. in 
diameter. After this small hole has 
been drilled through both pieces, a 
countersink should be placed in the 
drill chuck and the hole in the upper 
piece countersunk to a depth equal to 
half the thickness of the metal in 
which it is drilled. Unclamp the pieces 
from the drill press, turn them over, 
and countersink the small hole in what, 
was originally the lower piece. The 
object of countersinking these holes is 
to reduce the bearing surface of a 


































457 


small shaft that is to be supported in 
the holes and must be as free from 
friction as possible. 

We may now construct the needle, 
or moving portion of the thermostat, 
which should be done as follows: The 
shaft that is to carry the moving sys¬ 
tem must be made from a piece of 
steel rod, about ^ i n diameter. 
Its dimensions should correspond to 
those given in Fig. 9. Considerable 
care should be used in turning this 
shaft down, to make sure that it fits 
perfectly in the small holes in the sup¬ 
porting pieces. The shaft should turn 
freely, but it must not be loose in the 
holes, nor should it have but a very 
small end play. 

Cut from some 1/32-in. sheet brass 
a piece whose dimensions correspond 
to those given in Fig. 10. Drill a 
%-in. hole, A, in this piece, and cut 
a slot, B, from one side of the piece 
into this hole, and a second slot, C, 
along the center of the piece as in¬ 
dicated in the figure. Consider¬ 
able care should be exercized in cut¬ 
ting the slot C, so that its breadth is 
exactly equal to the diameter of the 
piece of steel wire fastened on the end 
of the couple. Also make sure to get 
the sides of this slot perfectly smooth. 
Cut from some %-in. brass a disk hav¬ 
ing a diameter of % in., and solder it 
to the end of the needle. The dotted 
line in Fig. 10' indicates the proper posi¬ 
tion of the disk. Now drill a hole, D, 
through the disk and needle, of such 
a diameter that considerable force 
must be applied to the steel shaft you 
have already made, in order to force 
it through the hole. Force the shaft 


.aL__ JLiu 

16J* 64 * | I6J 

\ Fig. 9 j 

(* 

/ A , C 


b>f 

IFi*-- 

Fi/* in 

H 

[ 

1 C 


MG.IU 


5" 

,// 


t ' 4 

-- 3k - 

' 8 ~* 

8 

*4* 



Shaft for Needle and Needle 


through this hole until the needle is 
exactly in the center of the shaft. 

The parts of the thermostat thus far 
made can now be assembled. Place 


the steel shaft in its bearings and see 
that it turns perfectly free. Then 
place the steel pin, on the end of the 
couple, in the slot C, and fasten the 



Wiring Diagram for One and Two Bells 


other end of the couple, by means of 
two machine screws, to the support 
made for the couple. Increase or de¬ 
crease the temperature of the ther¬ 
mostat and note the results. If 
everything is working all right, the 
end of the needle should move 
when the temperature of the ther¬ 
mostat is changed. The amount the 
end of the needle moves can be easily 
changed by moving the support or the 
couple toward or away from the shaft 
supporting the needle, which changes 
the position of the steel pin in the slot 
C. The nearer the steel pin is to the 
shaft supporting the needle, the greater 
the movement of the end of the needle 
due to a given change in temperature. 

A small piece of white cardboard 
can be mounted directly under the end 
of the needle by means of small brass 
strips, that in turn can be attached to 
the lower ends of the main mounting 
holes D, Fig. 4. A scale can be 
marked on this piece of cardboard by 
noting the position of the needle corre¬ 
sponding to different temperatures as 
determined by a thermometer. When 
this scale has been completed, you can 
use the thermostat as a thermometer. 

Two contacts may be mounted, one 
on each side of the needle, in a man¬ 
ner similar to the method suggested 
for mounting the cardboard. These 
contacts should be so constructed that 





































the end of the needle will slide over 
them with little friction, and so that 
their position with respect to the end 
of the needle may be easily changed. 



Both contacts must be insulated from 
the remainder of the thermostat, and 
may or may not be connected together, 
depending on how the thermostat is to 
be used. 

It would be advisable, if possible, to 
have the part of the needle that touches 
the contact points, as well as these 
points, of platinum, as the arc that is 


likely to be formed will not destroy 
the platinum as easily as it will the 
brass. A small wooden containing case 
can now be made and the thermostat 
is complete. There should be a large 
number of holes drilled in the sides, 
ends and back of the case so that the 
air inside may be always of the same 
temperature as the outside air. 

In adjusting, testing, or calibrating 
your thermostat, make sure that it is 
in the same position that it will be in 
when in use. 

The connections of the thermostat 
for ringing one bell when the tem¬ 
perature rises or falls to a certain value, 
are shown in Fig. 11. The connections 
of the thermostat for ringing one bell 
when the temperature rises to a cer¬ 
tain value and another bell when the 
temperature falls to a certain value, are 
shown in Fig. 12. The complete 
thermostat is shown in Fig. 13. 


A Tailless Kite 

The frame of a 3-ft. kite is made of 
two sticks, each 3 ft. long. These are 
tied together so that the cross stick 
will be at a distance of 15 per cent of 
the full length of the upright stick, 
from its end, or in this case 5.4 in. 
The sticks may be made of straight¬ 
grained pine, % in. square, for small 
kites, and larger hardwood sticks, for 
larger kites. 

The cross stick is bent into a bow 



by tying a strong cord across from 
end to end. The center of the bend 
should be 4% in. above the ends. The 
bend is shown in the sketch. Connect 


all four ends or points with a cord, 
being careful not to pull the bend of 
the cross stick down, but seeing that 
it remains straight across the kite. 
When this is done the frame is ready 
for the cover. 

The cover will require 2% sheets 
of tissue paper, 20' by 30 in., which 
should be pasted together as the 
sketch indicates. Cut out the paper, 
allowing 2 in. margin for lapping over 
the cord on the frame. Place the 
frame on the cover with the convex 
side toward the paper and paste the 
margin over the cord, allowing the 
paper to bag a little to form pockets 
for the air to lift the kite. The cor¬ 
ners should be reinforced with circu¬ 
lar pieces of paper pasted over the ends 
of the sticks. 

The flying cord is attached to the 
points A and B of the frame. There 
is no cross cord. The kite will fly at 
right angles to the flying cord. It is 
easily started flying from the ground 
by laying it with the head toward the 
operator and pulling it up into the 
wind.—Contributed by Chas. B. 
Damik, Cooperstown, N. Y. 



















459 


The Levitation —A Modem Stage Trick 


This illusion has mystified thousands 
of the theater-going public, in fact, it 
has been the “piece de resistance” of 
many illusion acts. The ordinary 
method of procedure is as follows : The 
person who is to be suspended in the 
air, apparently with no support—usu¬ 
ally a lady—is first put in a hypnotic 
( ?) sleep. She is placed oh a couch in 
the middle of the stage, and in most 
cases the spot light is brought into play. 
The performer then takes a position 
close to the couch and with dramatic 


tion of which will be readily understood 
by a glance at the accompanying illus¬ 
trations. 

The bottom of the couch, if one is 
used, contains a cradle-like arrange¬ 
ment which fits the recumbent'form of 
the lady and is connected to a heavy 
sheet of plate glass by means of a rod, 
D, Fig. 2, attached to one end, and run¬ 
ning parallel to the side of the cradle. 
When the glass is lifted, the body of 
the subject is also raised, seemingly at 
the will of the performer. This is ac- 



Raising the Subject in Midair 


effect makes a few hypnotic passes over 
the subject. She then slowly rises from 
the couch until she has attained a height 
varying from 4 to 5 ft. above the stage, 
as shown in Fig. 1. The couch is then 
taken away and a hoop is passed over 
the floating lady. The performer now 
causes the lady to float back to the 
couch or board that she may have been 
resting on, after which the so-called 
hypnotic spell is withdrawn. 

In spite of the claims that the illusion 
owes its origin to Hindoo magic, it is 
nothing more nor less than a clever 
mechanical contrivance, the construc- 


complished by the aid of an assistant 
beneath the stage floor. The plate of 
glass, E, Fig. 3, passes perpendicularly 
through the stage down to a double 
block and tackle. The end of the cable 
is attached to a drum or windlass and 
the plate glass held steady with guides 
at the sides of the slot in the stage floor, 
through which it passes. The winding 
up of the cable naturally forces the 
plate glass and cradle up, causing the 
lady to rise. 

Some illusionists place the lady on 
a board on two ordinary trestles and 
cause the board to rise with the lady 


























460 





_ Ft® a. _ 

Direction the Hoop Takes 

on it, as shown in the illustration, 
thus obviating the use of heavy para¬ 
phernalia as in the cradle attachment. 
The cradle attachment is also generally 
accompanied by a 2-in. iron bar, used 
in the place of the plate glass, the per¬ 
former or operator standing at the rear 
of the couch to conceal the bar as it 
comes from beneath the stage. How¬ 
ever, the method illustrated is the one 
generally used. 

The solid hoop is passed over the 
body in the following manner: Start 
at the end, B, Fig. 2, passing the hoop 
as far as C with the hoop on the out¬ 
side of the back horizontal rod. The 



F.g 3 


in Passing over the Board ' 

side of the hoop toward the audience 
is then turned and swung clear around 
over the feet at A and entered between 
the rod and board on which the lady 
rests. The hoop is then carried as far 
as it will go back toward the end B. 
Then the side nearest the operator is 
passed over the head of the body ap¬ 
parently the second time and passed off 
free at the feet. Thus to the closest ob¬ 
server the impression is given that the 
hoop has encircled the lady twice. The 
illustrations give in detail the working 
of the illusion above the stage floor. 
No set rule is used for the tackle and 
drum below the floor. 



4 

























CONTENTS 


Accelerometer, Simple . . . 93 

Acid Burns, Treating . 126 

Acetylene Gas Generator, Homemade . 57 

Acetylene Lamp, Lighting . 401 

Aerating Water in a Small Tank . 241 

Aeroplane, Paper, How to Make . 329 

Aeroplanes, Model, Equilibrator for . 11 

Alarm, Burglar, How to Make . 368 

Alarm, Callers’ Approach . 87 

Alarm Clock Chicken Feeder. 79 

Alarm Clock to Pull Up Furnace Draft. 107 

Alarm, Electric . 94 

Alarm, Electric, Door Bell and . 114 

Alarm, Electric Fire, How to Make . 430 

Alarm, Electric, That Rings a Bell and Turns On 

a Light . 337 

Alarm, Electric Time . 433 

Alarm, Fire .47, 359 

Aluminum Polish . 428 

Alumi' am, Satin Finish on. 198 

Aluminum Wire, Insulating . .. 306 

Ammeter, How to Make .49, 203 

Amusement—Boys Representing the Centaur . . . 173 
Amusement Device — Merry-Go-Round Thriller. . 209 
Amusement Device — Meiry-Go-Round, To Build. . 359 
Amusement Device — Teeter Board, Revolving. . . 297 

Anesthesia, Electric . 445 

Animals, Small, Trap for . 82 

Annealing Chisel Steel . 362 

Annunciator, How to Construct.57, 416 

Aquarium, How to Make .64, 219 

Arbor, Grape, How to Build . 73 

Arc Lamp, Homemade . 132 

Arc Searchlight, Self Lighting . 9 

Arms and Armor, Imitation : 

Part I . * . 235 

Part II . 242 

Part III . 248 

Part IV . 263 

Part V. 271 

Part VI . 279 

Part VII . 284 

Arms, Drip Shield for . , . 258 

Arrowhead, Flint, How to Make . 23 

Asbestos Table Pads, Homemade . 212 

Athletes, Weights for. How to Make . 274 

Atomizer, How to Make . 158 

Automobile, Boys’ Homemade.402, 430 

Automobile Engine, Cooling Water for . 236 

Automobile, Greasing the Front Wheels of . 320 

Automobile Headlights, Adjusting . . . 217 

Automobile, Painting . 357 

Automobile with Sails . 326 

Axle, Cart without . 291 


Babbitt Ladle, Emergency. 

Babbitt, Ladle for Melting . 

Bag, Changing, for Plate Holders . 

Bag, Sewing, How to Make . 

Bags, Paper, Use for . 

Balloon Ascension Illusion . 

Balloon, Pilot, How to Make . 

Balloons, Paper, How to Make . 

Barometer, Homemade . 

Barometer, How to Make . 

Barrel Stave Hammock . 

Barrel Stave Sled . 

Baseball, Playing with a Pocket Knife . 

Baseball Throwing Practice, Device for . 

Bath, Shower, To Make . 

Bathtub Stopper, Substitute . 

Batteries, Connecting Up to Give Any Voltage . . . 

Batteries, Dry, To Obtain Cheaply .. 

Batteries, Dry, To Renew .369, 378, 

Batteries, Gravity, Why Fail . 

Battery Binding Posts, Wire Loop Connections 

for . 

Battery Cell, Dry, Making . 

Battery Connections, Wire Terminals for . 

Battery, Grenet, How to Make . 

Battery Motor, Controller and Reverse for . 

Battery Motor, Reversing . 

Battery, Non-Polarizing, How to Make . 

Battery Rheostat .80, 

Battery, Small Storage, How to Make . 

Battery Switch. 

Battery, Thermo-Electric, How to Make .59, 

Battery Voltmeter .. 

Battery Zincs, Old, To Use . 


264 

173 

212 

386 

19 

300 

118 

215 

151 

188 

75 

383 

250 

312 

15 

429 

93 

410 

401 

115 

449 

160 

168 

83 

72 

405 

151 

445 

121 

99 

140 

153 

87 


461 


Bed Warmer, Electric, How to Make . 338 

Beeswax, Substitute for . . 129 

Bell, Cracked, Restoring Tone to. . 71 

Bell, Return Call, with One Wire . 101 

Bell Ring Register . .316 

Bell, Ringing by Touching a Gas Jet. 403 

Belt, Eyelets for . 432 

Belt Lace Caution . 239 

Belt, Round, To Make without Ends ........... 243 

Bench Lathe Made of Pipe Fittings.. 316 

Bicycle Catamaran . 145 

Bicycle Coasting Sled, How to Make . 231 

Bicycle Frame, Enameling . 385 

Bicycle, Runners on .. 157 

Bicycle, To Attach a Sail to. 425 

Bicycle, Trailer for. 397 

Bicycle Trouser Guards for Sleeve Bands . 283 

Bicycle, Water, How to Make. 335 

Bill File Made of Corkscrews . 315 

Bind Magazines, To .40, 56, 406 

Bird House, Proper Design for . 201 

Bird Houses, Clay Flower Pots Used for . 277 

Bit, Gouge Used as . 411 

Blotter Pad, Corner Pieces for . 8 

Blotting Pad, Desk . 17 

Blowpipe, Homemade . 428 

Blueprint Lantern Slides, How to Make . 120 

Blues, Prussian and Chinese . 401 

Boards, Joining . 268 

Boat—Bicycle Catamaran . 145 

Boat—Canoe, How to Make . 451 

Boat—Catamaran, Cruising . 423 

Boat, Ice, How to Build .357, 382 

Boat, Paddle, How to Make . 100 

Boat, Paper, How to Make . 321 

Boat—Punt, Homemade . 123 

Bobsled, Homemade Yankee . 408 

Bolts, Rusted . 151 

Book Cover, Paper, How to Make. 126 

Book Holder . 32 

Book, Removing Grease Stains from . 230 

Book Rest . 292 

Bookcase Doors, To Keep Closed . 377 

Bookmark . 379 

Bookmark, Brass . 18 

Bookmark, Paper Clip . 241 

Books, How to Carry . 409 

Boomerangs, How to Make .4, 202 

Bore a Square Hole, How to . 179 

Boring Holes in Cork . 8 

Bottle, Cutting Thread inside of. 179 

Bottle, Diving . 331 

Bottle, Inverted, Withdrawing Paper from Under 33 

Bottle, Photographing Man in . 74 

Bottle Pushing on the Ice '. 409 

Bottles, Round End, Base for . 29 

Bottle Stopper, New Way to Remove . 224 

Bowl, Copper, How to Make . 185 

Box Cover, Sliding, Fastener . 256 

Box, Fishhook . 379 

Box, Magic . 7 

Box, Water Color . 257 

Boxes, Rustic Window . 30 

Bracket Saw, Cheap, How to Make. 42 

Brass Bookmark. 18 

Brass, Cleaning . 407 

Brass Flag, Ornamental, How to Make. 266 

Brass Frame in Repousse . 237 

Brass Furnace, How to Build... 115 

Brass, Piercing Punch for . 19 

Brass Plaques, Photo Silhouette, Making. 217 

Brass Surface, Flat, Polishing. 229 

Brass Work—Candlestick, How to Make . 325 

Bread, Loaf, Cutting. 36 

Bronze Liquid. 329 

Brooder for Small Chickens . 343 

Broom Holder . 13 

Broom Holder Made of a Hinge. 33 

Broom, Old, Crutch Made of. 352 

Brush, Counter, for a Shop . 419 

Brush, To Keep from Spreading. 367 

Brushes, Paint, Care of. 267 

Bulb on a Glass Tube, To Make. 324 

Bunsen Cell, How to Make . 206 

Burglar Alarm, Simple, How to Make . 368 

Burning Inscriptions on Trees. 45 

Burns, Carbolic Acid. 126 

Button, Changing into a Coin .. 234 

Button, Removing from Child’s Nostril . 237 

Buttonhole Trick . 234 













































































































































































462 


Cabinet for Pot Covers . 16 

Cabinet for Phonograph Records . 433 

Cabinet, Music, How to Make. 77 

Cabinet, Phonograph Disk Cabinet .79, 433 

Calendar, Handy . 196 

Calliope, Steam, How to Make. 418 

Camera, Box, Repairing. 379 

Camera, Enlarging from Life in.Ill, 117 

Camera, Homemade Kits for. 159 

Camera, Making Lightproof . 58 

Camera, Practical, for Fifty Cents . 365 

Camp Stool, How to Make . 222 

Camp, Tin Drinking Cup for . 379 

Camper’s Lantern, Makeshift .*. 266 

Camps and How to Build Them. 341 

Camps, Keeping Food Cool in. 21 

Can Covers, Tool for Lifting. 352 

Candle Shade, How to Make. 191 

Candlestick, How to Make .240, 281, 325 

Candlestick, Water . 406 

Cane Chairs, How to. 259 

Cane in Furniture, Tightening. 230 

Cannon Balls, 36, Removing from Handbag .... 256 

Cannon, Gas. 197 

Cannon, How to Make. 42 

Cannon, Lead, How to Make. 338 

Cannon, Toy, To Discharge by Electricity. 59 

Canoe, How to Make . 451 

Canoe, Sailing, How to Make . 199 

Cans, Tomato, Irrigating with . 450 

Canvas Cot, Folding, How to Make. 154 

Canvas, Waterproofing . 146 

Carburetor Difficulties. 208 

Card Trick, Rising. 256 

Card Trick with a Tapered Deck. 70 

Cardboard Spiral Turned by Heat. 226 

Cardboard Squares, Gun for Throwing. 269 

Cardcase, Lady’s, How to Make. 350 

Cards, Mechanical Trick with. 63 

Carpenter’s Gauge.. 19 

Carpenter’s Vise, Homemade. 36 

Carpet Sweeper Wheels, New Tires for. 266 

Cart, Dog . 160 

Cart without an Axle. 291 

Catamaran, Bicycle . 145 

Catamaran, Cruising. 423 

Catapult, Fourth of July. 447 

Cats, Shocking Device for. 411 

Cell, Bunsen . 206 

Cell, Daniell . 252 

Centaur, Boys Representing . 173 

Centering, To Make Unnecessary. 319 

Chain Made from a Match . 377 

Chair, Child’s Footrest on . 453 

Chair Legs, Rubber Tip for . 229 

Chair, Porch Swing . 128 

Chair Rockers, Safety Tips on . 429 

Chair Sleighs . 383 

Chairs, Balancing on . 131 

Chairs, To Cane . 259 

Checker Board Puzzle ....189, 233 

Cheesebox Cover, Tea Tray . 18 

Chemicals, Protecting Fingers from . 283 

Cherry Seeder . 29 

Chicken Coop, Keeping Rats from . 352 

Chickens, Drinking Trough for. 454 

Chickens, Feed Box for. 292 

Chickens, Small, Brooder for . 343 

Chisel, Ice . 61 

Chisel, Steel, Annealing. 362 

Chopping Board. 19 

Christmas Tree Decorations, Repairing. 11 

Churn, Homemade Small . 192 

Clamp, Magazine, How to Make. 435 

Clamping a Cork . 33 

Clamps, Homemade Soldering . 137 

Cleaner for Gloves . 302 

Cleaner for White Shoes. 239 

Cleaning Brass . 407 

Cleaning Discolored Silver. 344 

Cleaning Furniture . 185 

Cleaning, Glass, Solution . 31 

Cleaning Jewelry . 353 

Cleaning Leather on Furniture . 13 

Cleaning Silver . 305 

Cleaning Walls . 375 

Cleaning Woodwork . 315 

Cleats, Insulating, Substitute for . 348 

Clock, Electric, How to Make. 268 

Clock, Homemade Novelty . 446 

Clock, How to Clean . 119 

Clock, Novelty, for the Kitchen. 360 

Clock, Old, Use for. 367 

Clothes Rack . 14 

Clothesline, Double, Support for . 318 


Coaster, Roller, Illusion . 293 

Coaster, Trolley, How to Make . 387 

Coasters and Chair Sleighs . 383 

Cock, Three Way, for Small Model Work. 50 

Coil, Jump Spark . 113 

Coils, Forming to Make Flexible Wire Connections 443 

Coin and Card on the First Finger .. 175 

Coin and Tumbler Trick . 378 

Coin, Changing Button into . 234 

Coin, Disappearing .176, 193 

Coin in a Wine Glass Trick . 167 

Coin, Moving under a Glass . 214 

Coin Purse, IIow to Make . 354 

Coin, Sticking against a Wall . 176 

Coin, Sticking to Wood by Vacuum . 287 

Coins, Display Rack Shows Both Sides of. 220 

Coins, Sending by Mail, Safe Method of. 287 

Compass, Mariner’s . 170 

Compass Needle, Floating . 160 

Compass, Substitute for . 289 

Compressed Air Phenomenon. Ill 

Concrete Kennel . ...» . 23 

Concrete Swimming Pool . 178 

Conservatory, Window . 103 

Controller for a Small Motor . 42 

Cook Fish, One Way to . 206 

Copper Bowl, How to Make . . . .. 185 

Copper, Hardening . 206 

Copper Picture Frame, Etched, How to Make... 414 

Copper Trays, How to Make . 180 

Copper Work—Corner Pieces for a Blotter Pad. . 8 

Cord, Buttoned . 427 

Cork, Boring Holes in . 8 

Cork, Clamping . 33 

Cork Extractor .. 300 

Corks, How to Fit . 368 

Corkscrews, Bill File Made of . 315 

Corner Pieces for a Blotter Pad, How to Make . . 8 

Cot, Canvas, How to Make . 154 

Counter Brush for a Shop . 419 

Crossbow and Arrow Sling, How to Make. 339 

Crutch, Homemade . 369 

Crutch Made of an Old Broom. 352 

Crystallization. Instantaneous . 288 

Cup and Saucer Rack, How to Make. 105 

Cup, Tin Drinking, for the Camp. 379 

Current Reverser .107, 111 

Curtain Roller . 419 

Curtain Roller Spring, How to Tighten . 79 

Dance, Miniature War . 255 

Darkroom Lantern, Ilome^nade .14, 340 

Darkroom, Photographic, Building. 26 

Demagnetizing a Watch. 166 

Desk Blotting Pad . .. 17 

Developing Box, How to Make . 220 

Developing Tray, Cracked Composition, To Repair 260 

Developing Tray, Photographic. 269 

Disli Holder, Hot . 7 

Dogcart, Homemade . 160 

Dog, How to Chain . 257 

Dog’s Bark, Drowning with Water . 435 

Dogs, To Drive Away . 106 

Door Bell and Electric Alarm . 114 

Door Lock, Secret . 6 

Door Opener, Electric . 78 

Door Opener for a Furnace . 83 

Door, Sliding, Electric Lock for . 89 

Dovetail Joint . 29 

Dovetail Joint Tuzzle... 236 

Draft Opener. Automatic.. 102 

Draftsman, Spline for . 406 

Draftsman's Ink Bottle Cork, Steel Pen Used in 117 

Drawers, Several, Locking with One Lock. 314 

Drawing, Aid in. 270 

Drawing Instrument—Wondergraph, How to Make 436 

Drawing, Landscape, Made Easy . 449 

Drill Gauge, Handy . 252 

Drill, Hand, How to Make. 444 

Drinking Cup, Tin, for the Camp . 379 

Drinking Trough for Chickens . 454 

Drip Shield for the Arms . 258 

Dry Batteries, Another Way to Renew . 378 

Dry Batteries, Cheap, How to Obtain . 410 

Dry Batteries, Old, To Renew .... 401 

Dry Batteries, Renewing . 367 

Dry Battery Cell, How to Make . 160 

Duplicator for Box Cameras . 363 

Duplicator, Homemade . 240 

Easel, How to Make. 415 

Egg-Beater, How to Make . 291 

Eggshell Funnel . 93 

Eggshells, How to Preserve.• . .. 288 



















































































































































































403 


Elderberry Huller, Homemade . 

Electric Alarm . 

Electric Alarm, Door Bell and 

Electric Alarm That Rings a Bell and Turns On 

a Light . 

Electric Anesthesia . . 

Electric Apparatus — Ammeter, Iiow to Make. .49, 
Electric Apparatus — Annunciator, Homemade. . . . 
Electric Apparatus—Annunciator, How to Con¬ 
struct . 

Electric Apparatus — Batteries, Connecting Up to 

Give Any Voltage . 

Electric Apparatus — Battery Rheostat . 

Electric Apparatus—Battery Voltmeter . 

Electric Apparatus—Bell, Return Call, with One 

Wire . . . 

Electric Apparatus—Cats, To Shock. 

Electric Apparatus — Cell, Daniell . 

Electric Apparatus—Circuit Breaker for Induc¬ 
tion Coils . 

Electric Apparatus — Contrpller and Reverse for 

Battery Motor . 

Electric Apparatus—Controller for a Small Motor 

Electric Apparatus — Current Reverser .107, 

Electric Apparatus—Galvanometer, Tangent .... 
Electric Apparatus—'Induction Coil, How to Make 
Electric Apparatus—-Induction Coils, Mercury 

Make and Break Connection for. 

Electric Apparatus—Jump Spark Coil . 

Electric Apparatus—Medical Induction Coil, How 

to Make. 

Electric Apparatus—Motor, Single Phase Induc¬ 
tion . 

Electric Apparatus—Motors, Direct Connected 

Reverse for. 

Electric Apparatus—Rheostat, Lead Pencil. 

Electric Apparatus—Shocking Machine . 

Electric Apparatus—'Thermo Battery, How to 

Make . 

Electric Apparatus—Thermostat, Small . 

Electric Apparatus—Transformer, 110-Volt .... 

Electric Apparatus—Voltammeter, Pocket . 

Electric Battery Massage, Homemade . 

Electric Bed Warmer, Homemade . 

Electric Bell, Relay Made from . 

Electric Blue Light Experiment . 

Electric Clock, Homemade . 

Electric Charges, Detector for . 

Electric Door Opener . 

Electric Engine . . 

Electric Experiment, Interesting . 

Electric Experiment, Reversing Switch for. 

Electric Fire Alarm, How to Make . 

Electric Furnace Regulator, How to Make. 

Electric Furnace, Small, How to Make. 

Electric Heat Regulator, Automatic . 

Electric Horn, How to Make. (. . 

Electric Hydrogen Generator ... 

Electric Illusion Box. 

Electric Indicator for a Wind Vane. 

Electric Lamp Experiment.53, 120, 

Electric Lamp Sockets, Miniature, How to Make 

Electric Lamps, Miniature. 

Electric Lamps, Testing . 

Electric Light Circuit, Experiments with . 

Electric Lighting, Miniature . 

Electric Lights, Turned On and Off from Dif¬ 
ferent Places .. 

Electric Lock. . .60, 

Electric Lock for Sliding Door . 

Electric Lock, Simple . 

Electric Locomotive, Miniature, How to Make . . 

Electric Motor . 

Electric Motor, Novel . 

Electric Motor, Small .214, 222, 

Electric Pendant Switch, How to Make. 

Electric Piano, Flow to Make . 

Electric Plug, Homemade . 

Electric Postcard Projector . 

Electric Rat Exterminator. 

Electric Shock, To Give While Shaking Hands.. 

Electric Shocker for Garbage Cans. 

Electric Stove, Homemade.31, 

Electric Terminals, Varnish for. 

Electric Time Alarm. 

Electric Toaster, How to Make. 

Electric Walking Stick . 

Electric Wires, Flexible, Adjuster for. 

Electricity, To Discharge Toy Cannon by . 

Electricity, To Explode Powder with. 

Electricity, Writing with . . 


Electrodeposition, Copies Made from Wax Molds by 157 

Electrolytic Rectifier, How to Make . 197 

Electromagnet, Floating. 152 

Electroplating, Easy Method of . 88 

Electroscope, How to Make. 103 

Electrostatic Illumination . 299 

Emery Wheel Arbors, Washers for . 359 

Enameling a Bicycle Frame . 385 

Engine, Electric . 276 

Engine, Gasoline, How to Make. 207 

Engine, Model Steam . 1 

Engine, Steam, Made from Gas Pipe and Fittings 184 

Engine, Toy Steam, How to Make . 73 

Engine, Turbine, How to Make . 355 

Equatorial, Homemade .204, 253 

Equilibrator for Model Aeroplanes . 11 

Experiment, Center of Gravity . 302 

Experiment, Electric .377 

Experiment, Electric Blue Light . 47 

Experiment, Heat and Expansion . 124 

Experiment, Phonograph . 105 

Experiment, Telephone . 137 

Experiment with a Vacuum . 439 

Experiment with Colored Electric Lamps . 53 

Experiment with Heat . 134 

Experiment with Incandescent Lamp . 427 

Experiment with Two Foot Rule and Hammer... 106 

Experiment, X-Ray . 190 

Experiments, Electric Lamp .120, 131 

Experiments, Electrical, Reversing Switch for... 92 

Experiments with a Mirror .434 

Experiments with Electric Light Circuit. 50 

Eye, Blind Spot in, To Find . 129 

Eyeglasses, Holding Firm . 315 

Pan, Wooden, How to Make . 332 

Faucet Used as an Emergency Plug. 343 

Feed Box for Chickens . 292 

File, Chalking . 19 

File, Sharpening Skates with . 306 

File Soft Metals, How to . 406 

Film Washing Trough . 331 

Films, Drying . 412 

Films, Frame for Drying . 446 

Filter, Simple and Effective. 278 

Filtering with a Small Funnel. 25 

Finger Mathematics . 181 

Finger, Removing Tight Fitting Ring from. 361 

Fingers, Protecting from Chemicals . 283 

Fire Alarm, Cheap . 47 

Fire Alarm, Electric, How to Make . 430 

Fire Alarm, Simple, How to Make . 359 

Fire Extinguisher, Homemade . 351 

Fire, Making with the Aid of Ice . 338 

Fire Screen, How to Make. 82 

Fire Screen, Leaded Glass . 295 

Fish Bait . 152 

Fish, One Way to Cook .. 206 

Fishhook Box . 379 

Fishing through Ice, Signals for.10, 281, 380 

Flag, Brass, How to Make . 266 

Flatiron Rest . 19 

Flier, Toy, How to Make. 429 

Flint Arrowhead, How to Make . 23 

Floor Polisher, Homemade .10, 350 

Flour Sifter . 7 

Flower, Magic Growing . 244 

Flower Pot Stand . 33 

Flower Pots, Clay, Used for Bird Houses. 277 

Flower Pots, Window Shelf for . 292 

Flower Stand, Iron . 353 

Flowers, Cut, To Longer Preserve . 419 

Flowers, Decoloration of . 288 

Flush Valve, Repairing a Washer on . 344 

Fob, Shoestring Watch, How to Weave. 285 

Fob, Watch, How to Make.12, 223 

Food, Keeping Cool in Camps. 21 

Football, Tying Knot for. 133 

Footrest, Child’s, on an Ordinary Chair. 453 

Footwear, Drier for . 229 

Forks, Balancing on a Pin Head . 427 

Foundry Work at Home . 95 

Fountain for an Ordinary Pen . 450 

Fountain Pen, Ordinary Pen Used as . 454 

Fountain Pen Used as a Ruler. 319 

Fountain Pens, Leaking, Remedy for.390 

Frame, Brass,'in Repousse . 237 

Frost, To Keep Windows Free from. 354 

Fuming of Oak . 196 

Funnel, Eggshell . 93 

Funnel, Filtering with . 25 


323 

94 

114 

337 

445 

203 

57 

416 

93 

80 

153 

101 

411 

252 

101 

72 

42 

111 

150 

138 

187 

113 

63 

124 

60 

145 

139 

59 

455 

439 

330 

144 

338 

94 

47 

268 

281 

78 

276 

377 

92 

430 

388 

48 

344 

218 

54 

135 

348 

131 

270 

434 

314 

50 

104 

205 

110 

89 

60 

165 

401 

395 

345 

310 

247 

430 

195 

358 

133 

94 

273 

376 

433 

37 

413 

386 

59 

53 

74 






























































































































































464 


Funnel, Glass ....; . 412 

Funnel, Horn Used as . 7 

Funnel, Temporary . 275 

Funnel, Venting a . 318 

Furnace, Brass, How to Build . 115 

Furnace, Door Opener for . 83 

Furnace Draft, Alarm Clock to Pull Up . 107 

Furnace Draft Opener, Automatic . 102 

Furnace, Electric, Flow to Make . 48 

Furnace Regulator, Electric, Flow to Make. 388 

Furniture, Cleaning . 185 

Furniture, Cleaning Leather on. 13 

Furniture, Drawing of . 294 

Furniture—Library Set in Pyro-Carving . 407 

Furniture—Rustic Seat . 441 

Furniture—Table, Mission Library, How to Make 141 
Furniture, Tightening Cane in . 230 

Galvanometer, Tangent, Flow to Make. 150 

Galvanoscope, How to Make. 68 

Game—Baseball, Playing with a F’ocket Knife... 250 

Game—Bottle Pushers . 409 

Game, Chinese Outdoor . 176 

Game Played on the Ice . 216 

Garbage Can, Keeping Animals Away from . 94 

Gas Cannon . 197 

Gas Jet, Ringing a Bell by Touching. 403 

Gas Jet, Shade Holder Bracket for . 419 

Gas, To Light without Matches . 394 

Gasoline Burner for Model Work . 55 

Gasoline Engine, Homemade . 207 

Gauge, Carpenter’s . 19 

Gauge, Drill . 252 

Gauge, Rain, How to Make. 64 

Gauntlets on Gloves . 266 

Gear Cutting Attachment for Small Lathes. 167 

Gear for Model Work . 225 

Gear Wheels, Small, To Make without a Lathe.. 46 

Geissler Tube, How to Make. 154 

Glass Blowing and Forming. 420 

Glass Cleaning Solution .. 31 

Glass, Effect of Radium on. 116 

Glass, Emergency Magnifying . 305 

Glass, Fire Screen, leaded . 295 

Glass Funnel, Emergency . 412 

Glass, Ground, Imitating . 294 

Glass, Ground, Substitute. 255 

Glass Letters. Removing from Windows . 319 

Glass, Magnifying, How to Make. 397 

Glass, Photograph Prints Mounted on . 231 

Glass Plates, Piercing with a Spark Coil . 426 

Glass Tube, To Make a Bulb on . 324 

Glider, Flow to Make. 171 

Gloves, Cleaner for . 302 

Gloves, Gauntlets on . 266 

Gold Leaf, Covering Signals with . 189 

Gouge Used as a Bit . 411 

Gramophone Records, Cracked, Repairing. 24 

Grape Arbor How to Build... 73 

Gravity Batteries, Why Fail. 115 

Gravity Experiment . 302 

Grease Stains, Removing from Book. 230 

Grease, To Remove from Machinery . 216 

Greasing the Front Wheels of an Automobile . . . 320 

Grills, Rope, How to Make . 277 

Ground Glass, Imitating . 294 

Guitar That Is Easy to Make. 320 

Gummed Paper, Substitute for . 315 

Gun Barrels, Bursting of. 304 

Gun, Toy, for Throwing Cardboard Squares. 269 

Gymnasium, Outdoor : 

Part I—The Horizontal Bar . 298 

Part II—Parallel Bars . 301 

Part III—The Horse . 303 

Hacksaw Blade, Knife Made from . 293 

Hammock, Barrel Stave. 75 

Hammock, How to Make. 410 

Hand Car Made of Pipe and Fittings. 440 

Hand, Magic Spirit . 2 

Handbag, Ladies’, How to Make . 213 

Handbag, Removing 36 Cannon Balls from . 256 

Handkerchief Mended after Being Cut and Torn. . 198 

Handkerchief Trick, Vanishing . 319 

Handle, Opening, for a Stamp Pad . 23 

Handle, Tying Taper Bag to Make . 10 

Hanger, Trousers, How to Make .143, 369 

Hangers, Tool . 453 

Hardening Copper . 206 

Harmonograph, Line .'. 34 

Hat, To Hang on a Lead Pencil . 133 


Hatpins, Sealing Wax, How to Make. 175 

Hats, Felt, I J acking Cut from . 207 

Heat and Expansion . 124 

Fleat, Cardboard Spiral Turned by . 226 

Heat, Experiment with . 134 

Heat Regulator, Electric . 344 

Hectograph, Homemade .240, 326 

Hinge, Broom Holder Made of. 33 

Hinges, Imitation Fancy Wings on . 224 

Hinges, Leather, Metal Covering for. 41 

Hole, Square, Flow to Bore .. 179 

Hole, Threaded, Sizing .'. 295 

Holes, Boring in Cork. 8 

Holes, Circular, Cutting in Thin Sheet Metal ... 35 

Holes, Different Shaped, Flitting Plug in. 122 

Horn, Electric, How to Make . 218 

Horn, I J aper Phonograph, How to Make. 71 

Horn Used as Funnel . 7 

Horsepower of Small Motors, Finding . 238 

Flouse, Building in a Tree Top . 146 

Hydrogen Generator, Constant Pressure. 70 

Hydrogen Generator, Small Electrical . 54 

Hygrometer, How to Make .71, 140 

Ice Boat, How to Build. 357 

Ice Boating. 382 

Ice, Bottle Pushing on . 409 

Ice Chisel, Handy . 61 

Ice, Fish Signal for Fishing through.. . 10 

Ice, Fishing through . 281 

Ice, Game Fdayed on . 216 

Ice, Making a Fire with the Aid of. 338 

Ice, Merry-Go-Round Whirl on . 380 

Ice, Peculiar Properties of . 100 

Ice, Signals for Fishing through . 380 

Ice Skates, Hollow Grinding. 231 

Ice Yacht, Flow to Build. 307 

Illusion, Balloon Ascension . 300 

Illusion Box, Electric . 135 

Illusion for Window Attraction . 239 

Illusion, Miniature “Pepper’s Ghost”. 52 

Illusion, Roller Coaster . 293 

Illusion, Rolling Uphill. 361 

Illusions, Optical.74, 99, 130, 183, 206, 348, 364 

Incandescent Lamp, Experiment with . 427 

Indian Clubs, Weighting . 318 

Indicator, Electric, for a Wind Vane . 348 

Induction Coil, How to Make . 138 

Induction Coil, Lighting an Incandescent Lamp 

with . 112 

Induction Coil, Small Medical, Ilow to Make.... 63 

Induction Coils, Circuit Breaker for . 101 

Induction Coils. Mercury Make and Break Con¬ 
nections for . 187 

Induction Motor, Single Phase, Flow to Make . . . 124 

Ink Bottle Cork, Steel Pen Used in. 117 

Ink Spots, Removing . 131 

Inkstand, Ornamental Metal . 315 

Insulating Aluminum Wire . 306 

Insulating Cleats, Substitute for. 348 

Insulation, Removing from Wire . 213 

Interrupter, Ilow to Make. 51 

Iodine Stains, Removing . 425 

Iron Castings, Putty for. 269 

Iron Flower Stand, Ornamental . 353 

Iron Polisher . 286 

Iron Rest for an Ironing Board . 288 

Iron Work. Ornamental, Easy Designs in . 370 

Ironing Board Stand, How to Make .17, 429 

Irrigating with Tomato Cans . 450 

Jelly Making Stand . 290 

Jewelry, Ilow to Clean . 353 

Jig Saw Puzzle, Photographic. 361 

Joint, Dovetail . 29 

Jump Spark Coil, How to Make . 113 

Kennel, Concrete . 23 

Kennel Door, Automatic Closing. 32 

Kerosene, Used in Polishing Metals. 364 

Kettle, Spoonholder on . 24 

Kettles, Spoon Rest for .. ] 304 

Key Forms, Preserving. 454 

Key, Removing from a Double String . 179 

Kiln, Pottery .‘. 62 

Kitchen, Novelty Clock for .. .’ 360 

Kitchen Utensil—Baking Pan . 13 

Kitchen Utensil — Cherry Seeder. 29 

Kitchen Utensil — Chopping Board . 19 

Kitchen Utensil—Igg-Bgater, How to Make_291 

Kitchen Utensil—ElderbA-ry Huller . .. 323 







































































































































































465 


Kitchen Utensil—Flour Sifter. 

Kitchen Utensil for Removing Pies from Pans’ ’ 
Kitchen Utensil—Homemade Toaster .... 

Kitchen Utensil—Hot Dish Holder 

Kitchen Utensil—Hot Plate Lifter . 

Kitchen Utensil—Jelly Making Stand . 

Kitchen Utensil—Knife Sharpener . 

Kitchen Utensil—Ladle and Strainer, Combined 

Kitchen Utensil—Pot Cover Closet . 

Kitchen Utensil—Pot Covers, Homemade. 

Kitchen Utensil—Querl, Versatile . 

Kitchen Utensil—Salad Dressing Mixer . 

Kitchen Utensil—Spoon Rest for Kettles ....24. 
Kitchen Utensil—Tool for Lifting Can Covers . . . 

Kitchen Utensil—Vegetable Slicer . 

Kite Balancing Strings, Rubber Bands in. 

Kite, Box, How to Make . 

Kite, Chinese, How to Make and Fly . 

Kite Reel. Homemade .‘. 

Kite, Tailless . 

Kites of Many Kinds and How to Make Them. . . . 

Knife Blade, Worn, Repairing. 

Knife Made from Hacksaw Blade .. 

Knife, Pocket, Playing Baseball with. 

Knife Sharpener, Kitchen .. 

Knot, Magic . 

Knot Trick . 

Knot, Tying for Football . 

Ladle and Strainer, Combined . 

Ladle, Babbitt . 

Ladle for Melting Babbitt. 

Lamp, Acetylene, Lighting . 

Lamp, Arc . 

Lamp Cord, Flexible, Holder for . 

Lamp Cords, Flexible, Clasp for Holding. 

Lamp, Flash, How to Make . 

Lamp, Homemade Pocket . 

Lamp, Incandescent, Experiment with . 

Lamp. Incandescent, Lighting with an Induction 

Coil . 

Lamp, Quickly Made . 

Lamp Sockets, Miniature Electric, How to Make 

Lamp Stand and Shade, How to Make . 

Lamps, Electric, Testing . 

Lamps, Miniature Electric . 

Lamps, To Make Burn Brightly. 

Lantern, Camper’s Makeshift . 

Lantern, Darkroom, How to Make.14, 

Lantern, Homemade . 

Lantern, Magic, How to Make . 

Lantern, Magic. Using Sun’s Light in . 

Lantern Slide Masks, Cutting . 

Lantern Slides, Blueprint, How to Make . 

Lantern Slides, How to Make.127, 

Lantern Slides, Tinted, How to Make . 

Lathe, Bench, Made of Pipe Fittings . 

Lathe, How to Make. 

Lathe, Making Gear Wheels without. 

Lathe, Wood Turning, To Make Out of an Old 

Sewing Machine . 

Lathe Work, Calipering . 

Lathes, Small, Gear Cutting Attachment for .... 

Laundry Device—Clothes Rack . 

Laundry Device—Clothesline, Double, Support for 

Laundry Device—Iron Rest . 

Laundry Device—Iron Rest for an Ironing Board 

Laundry Device—Ironing Board Stand.17. 

Laundry Device—Sad Iron Polisher . 

Laundry Device—Washboard Holder. 

Lavatories, Sleeve Holders for . 

Lead Cannon, How to Make. 

Lead, Melting in Tissue Paper . 

Lead Pencil Rheostat, How to Make . 

Leaf, Photograph Printed on . 

Leather Cardcase, How to Make . 

Leather Hinges, Metal Coverings for. 

Leather on Furniture, Cleaning. 

Leather, Softening . 

Leather Spectacle Case, How to Make. 

Leather, Table Mat of, How to Make. 

Leather Work, Arts and Crafts. 

Letter Holder of Pierced Metal . 

Lettering on a Dark Ground, Paint for. 

Lettering with a Carpenter’s Pencil. 

Letters, Glass, Removing from Windows . 

Levitation—Modern Stage Trick . 

Library Set in Pyro-Carving. 

Life Buoy, How to Make . 

Life Preserver. Homemade . 

Light Gas without Matches, To . 


Light, Post or Swinging, Homemade. 189 

Light Trick, Invisible . 251 

Lightning Arrester, How to Make. 122 

Lightning, Photographing.124, 176 

Lights, Turning On and Off from any Number of 

Places . 310 

Linoleum, How to Repair . 273 

Liquids—Splashes, Study of . 164 

Lock, Automatic. 106 

Lock, Electric .60, 110 

Lock, Electric, for a Sliding Door. 89 

Lock, Homemade Pneumatic . 65 

Lock, Lubricating . 151 

Lock, Secret Door . 6 

Lock, Spring, Protection of . 72 

Lock, Trunk, How to Attach . .. 134 

Lock, Window . 397 

Locking Several Drawers with One Lock. 314 

Locomotive, Miniature Electric, How to Make... 165 

Log, To Cross Stream on. 94 

Lubricant for Wood Screws. 137 

Lubricate Sheet Metal, To. 69 

Lubricating a Lock . 151 

Machinery, To Remove Grease from . 216 

Magazine Binder, To Make . 406 

Magazine Clamp, How to Make. 435 

Magazine, How to Bind .40, 56 

Magic Box Escape . 7 

Magic—Electric Illusion Box . 135 

Magic Lantern, Homemade . 328 

Magic, Old Time.167, 

175, 176, 179, 193, 198, 234, 244, 251, 256, 427 

Magic, Parlor, for Winter Evenings. 90 

Magic Spirit Hand . 2 

Magic—Violin, Making Spirits Flay. 295 

Magnet for the Work Basket. 292 

Magnifying Glass, Emergency. 305 

Magnifying Glass, Homemade . 397 

Mahogany, Filler for. 139 

Mail Photographs, How to . 312 

Mail, Sending Coins by . 287 

Marble, Rolling . 197 

Massage, Electric Battery . 144 

Mat, Wrestling . 330 

Match, Chain Made from .377 

Match Holder of Wood and Metal, How to Make. . 282 

Match, How to Relight. 444 

Match Safe, Homemade . 194 

Mathematics, Finger . 181 

Mattresses, Handling . 19 

Measuring the Height of a Tree. 376 

Medical Induction Coil, How to Make. 63 

Mercury Make and Break Connections for Induc¬ 
tion Coils . 187 

Merry-Go-Round, How to Build. 359 

Merry-Go-Round Swing, How to Make. 131 

Merry-Go-Round Thriller . 209 

Merry-Go-Round Whirl on Ice. 380 

Metal Coverings for Leather Hinges. 41 

Metal Inkstand. Ornamental . 315 

Metal, Melting in the Flame of a Match. 449 

Metal, Pierced, Letter Holder of’. 294 

Metal, Sheet, Sawing . 291 

Metal, Sheet, To Lubricate . 69 

Metal, Thin Sheet, Cutting Circular Holes in ... . 35 

Metal Whisk Broom Holder . 221 

Metals, Soft, How to File . 406 

Metals, Use of Kerosene in Polishing. 364 

Mice and Rats, Killing. 293 

Micrometer, Homemade . 130 

Microscope, Homemade . 433 

Microscope, Small. How to Make . 408 

Microscope without a Lens . 76 

Minnow Trap. How to Make . 390 

Mirror, Experiments with . 434 

Model Aeroplanes, Equilibrator for . 11 

Model Steam Engine . 1 

Model Steamboat . 216 

Model Work, Gasoline Burner for . 55 

Model Work, Gear for . 225 

Model Work, Three Way Cock for. 50 

Mold, Removing from Wallpaper . 320 

Monoplane Weather-Vane . 390 

Moon, New, Photographing . 174 

Motor, Battery, Controller and Reverse for. 72 

Motor, Battery, Reversing . 405 

Mutor, Electric .214, 345, 395, 401 

Motor, Reversing . 105 

Motor, Single Phase Induction. 124 

Motor, Small, Controller for . 42 


7 

275 

139 

7 

318 

290 

379 

302 

16 

297 

28 

16 

304 

352 

413 

270 

58 

210 

156 

458 

391 

228 

293 

250 

379 

198 

167 

133 

302 

264 

173 

401 

132 

317 

267 

174 

149 

427 

112 

329 

270 

147 

314 

434 

364 

266 

340 

163 

328 

251 

245 

120 

220 

144 

316 

86 

46 

403 

258 

167 

14 

318 

19 

288 

429 

286 

39 

17 

338 

185 

145 

362 

350 

41 

13 

140 

228 

286 

168 

294 

170 

306 

319 

459 

407 

432 

4 

394 






































































































































































466 


Motor, Small, How to Make . 428 

Motor, Water .66, 311 

Motorcycle Drives Washing Machine . 219 

Motors, Small, Finding Horsepower of. 238 

Mouse Trap.112, 198, 293, 395, 450 

Music Cabinet, How to Make . 77 

Music, Furnace, To Transmit to a Distance. 107 


Nail Holes, Filling. 85 

Nail, To Hang Heavy Things on . 323 

Nails, Iron Shingle, Life of. 244 

Necktie Holder, Homemade . 369 

Negatives, Broken, Restoring . 377 

Nickel, Polish for . 112 

Nostril, Child’s, Removing Button from . 237 

Nut Cracking Block . 290 

Nuts, Tightening . 155 

Nutshell Photograph Novelty . 24 

Oak, Fuming of. 196 

Optical Illusion .74, 99, 130, 183, 206, 348, 364 

Optical Top . 69 

Ornaments, Christmas Tree, Repairing . 11 


Packing Cut from Felt Hats . 

Paint Brushes, Care of. 

Paint, Cause of Sagging. 

Paint for Lettering on a Dark Ground. 

Paint, Old, Removing. 

Paint, Sealing Up . 

Painting an Automobile . 

Painting Over Putty. 

Painting Yellow Pine . 

Paints, To Prevent from Crawling. 

Paints—Water Color Box. 

Pan, Baking . 

Paper Aeroplane, How to Make. 

Paper Bag, Tying to Make a Handle. 

Paper Bags, Use for. 

Paper Boat, How to Make. 

Paper, Gummed, Substitute for. 

Paper, Smoothing after Erasing. 

Paper, To Remove from Stamps. 

Paper under an Inverted Bottle, Withdrawing. . 

Parachutes and Darts, Toy. 

Paraffin Wire, How to. 

Pen, Fountain, Ordinary Pen used as.450, 

Pen, Fountain, Used as a Ruler. 

Pen, Steel, Used in Ink Bottle Cork. 

Pencil, Carpenter’s, Lettering with. 

Pens, Corrosion of. Preventing. 

Pens, Leaking Fountain, Remedy for. 

“Pepper’s Ghost’’ Illusion, Miniature. 

Percolator, Plant Food. 

Perfume Making Outfit. ...•. 

Phoneidoscope. 

Phonograph Experiment. 

Phonograph, Homemade . 

Phonograph Horn, Paper, How to Make. 

Phonograph Music, To Transmit to a Distance. . 

Phonograph Record Cabinet .79, 

Phonograph Reproducer, Relieving Weight of. . . . 

Phonograph Spring, Broken, Repairing. 

Phonograph, Steadying . 

Phonograph, Thorns Used as Needles on. 

Photograph Letters, Spelling Names with. 

Photograph Mounts, Rough Alligator . 

Photograph Novelty, Nutshell. 

Photograph of a Clown Face. 

Photograph Postcards, Drying . 

Photograph Print Washing Tank. 

Photograph Printed on a Leaf. 

Photograph Prints, Drying Flat. 

Photograph Prints, Drying Without Curling. . . . 

Photograph Prints, Mounting on Glass. 

Photograph Prints, Stretcher for Drying. 


Photographic Jig-Saw Puzzle. 

Photographing a Man in a Bottle. 

Photographing Lightning .124, 

Photographing the New Moon. 

Photographing the North Star . 

Photographs, Freak, Making of.110, 

Photographs, How to Mail....,. 


Photographs in Relief Easily Made. 

Photographs, Mounting in Plaster Plaques. 

Photographs on Watch Dials, Making. 

Photographs, To Print on Silk. 

Photography—'Background Frame, Take Down, 

How to Make . 

Photography—Changing Bag for Plate Holders. . 
Photography—Copying Stand . 


207 

267 

340 

170 

396 

363 

357 

136 

151 

55 

257 

13 

329 

10 

19 

321 

315 
29 

234 

33 

352 

161 

454 

319 

117 

306 

257 
390 

52 

258 
363 
407 
105 
289 

71 

107 

433 

245 

316 
214 
453 
232 

424 
24 

180 

453 

136 

362 

38 

425 
231 
275 
361 

74 

176 

174 

443 

440 

312 

431 

287 

386 

396 


156 

212 

149 


rhotography—Darkroom Lantern, How to Make 340 

Photography — Darkroom, Small, Building. 26 

Photography — Developing Box, How to Make.... 220 

Photography—Developing Tray . 269 

Photography — Developing Trayj Cracked, Re¬ 
pairing . 260 

Photography — Duplicator for Box Cameras. 363 

Photography — Enlarging from Life in the Camera 

. 7 ....Ill, 117 

Photography — Film Negatives, How to Keep. . . . 194 

Photography — -Film Washing Trough . 331 

Photography — Films, Drying . 41~ 

Photography — Films, Frame for Drying. 446 

Photography — Green Prints, Paper That Makes 157 

Photography — Kits for the Camera. 159 

Photography — Negative Washer, Adjustable, How 

to Make .*.. J43 

Photography — Negatives, Broken, Restoring. 377 

Photography — Paper Stuck to Negative, To 

Remove . 250 

Photography — Pictures, Four, on One Plate.... 46 

Photography—Printing Frame Stand. 123 

Photography — Prints, Overexposed Developing, 

Saving . 16 

Photography — Proofs, Making before Negative 

Dries . 33 

Photography—Ray Filter, Substitute for. 120 

Photography—Toning Blue on • Bromide and 

riatinum . . 31 

Photography — Tripod Holder, Homemade. 284 

Piano, Electric, How to Make. 247 

Picture Frame, Etched Copper, How to Make... 414 

Ties, Removing from Pans . 275 

.Tin Ball, How to Make. 314 

Pine, Yellow, Painting . 151 

Pipe and Fittings, Hand Car Made of. 440 

Pipe and Fittings, Hand Sled Made of. 305 

Pipe Fittings, Bench Lathe Made of. 316 

ripe Fittings, Uses for . 61 

ripe. Gas, and Fittings, Steam Engine Made 

from . 184 

Pipe Rack, Bent Iron. 305 

Planing Octagonal Wood Pieces, Block for.293 

Plant Food Percolator. 258 

Plaques, Photo Silhouette Brass. 217 

Plaques, Plaster, Mounting Photos in. 287 

Plaster of Paris, How to Mix. 110 

Plaster, Porous, Removing. 41 

Plate Lifter. Hot. 318 

Plug, Electric, How to Make. 430 

Plug, Emergency, Faucet Used as. 343 

Plug, Fitting in Different Shaped Holes. .. 122 

Plumb — Bob Line, Adjusting. 229 

Pocket Lamp, Homemade . 149 

Pockets for Spools of Thread. 13 

Polish, Aluminum . 428 

Polish for Nickel . 112 

Polish, Stove .133, 252 

Polisher. Floor .10, 350 

Polishing Cloths, for Silver. 32 

Tolishing Flat Surfaces . 229 

Polishing Metals, Use of Kerosene in. 364 

Porch Swing Chair . 128 

Portfolio, How to Make. 225 

Portieres, Japanese. How to Make. 265 

Postcard Holder, How to Make. 363 

Postcard Projector, Electric. 195 

Postcard Rack . 25 

Postcards, Photograph . 453 

Postcards, Unreadable, Key Card for Writing. . 35 

Pot Cover, Closet . 16 

Pot Covers, Homemade . 297 

Pottery Kiln, Homemade . 62 

Poultry, Feed Box for . 292 

Poultry Feeder, Alarm Clock. 79 

Powder, to Explode with Electricity. 53 

Propelling Vehicle, How to Make. 402 

Pulley, Grooved. Made from Sheet Tin. 412 

Pump, Rotary, How to Make. 81 

Punch. Piercing, for Brass. 19 

Punching Bag Platform, Adjustable. 267 

Punt, Homemade. 123 

Purse, Coin, How to Make. 354 

Putty, Blacking . 376 

Putty for Iron Castings. 269 

Putty Grinder . 191 

Putty, Painting over . 136 

Putty, To Preserve . 121 

Puzzle, Checker Board .189, 233 

Puzzle, Dovetail Joint . 236 

Puzzle, Photographic Jig Saw . 361 






























































































































































467 


Puzzle, Wire . 37 § 

Pyro-Carving, Library Set in. | ] 407 

Quartz Electrodes Used in Receiving Wireless 

Messages . 170 

Querl, Versatile .28 

Quilting Frames, Folding. !!!!!!!! 258 

Rabbit Trap, Homemade . 233 

Rabbit Trap, Self Setting, IIow to Make. .!!!!’.. 158 

Rabbits, Trap for . 395 

Rack, Bent Iron Pipe ... ’ * ’ 305 

Rack, Clothes . 14 

Rack, Cup and Saucer . ]..!!!!.! 105 

Rack for Displaying Coins . 220 

Rack, Postcard . 25 

Rack, Shoe . 140 

Radium Affects Glass . no 

Rain Gauge, How to Make . 64 

Rat Exterminator, Electric . 358 

Rat Traps . 290, 395 

Rats and Mice, Killing . ’ 293 

Rats, Keeping from a Chicken Coop . .. 352 

Ray Filter, Substitute for . 120 

Reel, Kite . 156 

Relay Made from an Electric Bell . 94 

Rheostat, Battery .80, 445 

Rheostat, Lead Peneil, How to Make . 145 

Rheostat, Water . 78 

Rheostat, Water, How to Make. 43 

Ring, Finger, How to Make . 39 

Ring, Tight Fitting, Removing from Finger.... 361 

Roller Coaster Illusion . 293 

Roller Skates, Homemade . 386 

Rope Grills, How to Make . 277 

Rubber Bands in Kite Balancing Strings . 270 

Rubber Stamps, How to Make . 393 

Rubber Tip for Chair Legs . 229 

Rule and Hammer, Experiment with . 106 

Ruler, Fountain Pen Used as . 319 

Cq plr Triplr OFM 

Sail, To Attach to a Bicycle-.. 425 

Sailomobile, How to Make .326, 415 

Sails, Boat, Revolving a Wheel with . 152 

Sails for Skaters ., 381 

Salad Dressing, Aid in Mixing . 16 

Sandpaper, To Keep from Slipping . 376 

Saw, Bracket, How to Make . 42 

Saw, Homemade Scroll . 11 

Sawing Sheet Metal . 389 

Scissors, Removing from a Card . 175 

Scissors, Sharpening . 419 

Sconce, How to Make . 325 

Scoop, Shot . 230 

Screen, Fire, How to Make . 82 

Screw, Tightening with Lead. 233 

Screws, Inserting in Hardwood . 318 

Screws, Wood, Lubricant for . 137 

Sealing Wax Bent While Cold. 61 

Sealing Wax Hatpins, How to Make . 175 

Seals, Clear Wax Impressions from . 450 

Searchlight, Self Lighting Arc . 9 

Searchlight, Small, IIow to Make . 336 

Seat, Rustic . f . 441 

Settee, Homemade . 385 

Sewing Bag, How to Make . . . .•. 386 

Sewing Machine, Old Wood Turning Lathe Made 

Out of . 403 

Screw, To Hold on a Screwdriver . 337 

Scroll Saw, Homemade . 11 

Shade, Candle, How to Make . 191 

Shade, Fastening to a Roller . 413 

Shade Holder Bracket for a Gas Jet. 419 

Shaving Mug, Traveler’s . 9 

Shelf Arrangement, Convenient .. 413 

Shelf, Mission Bracket . 39 

Shelf, Turn Down, for a Small Space. 144 

Shelf, Window, for Flower Pots. 292 

Shellac Gum, Dissolving . 124 

Shocking Machine, Homemade . 139 

Shoe Horn, Substitute . 25 

Shoe Rack, Homemade . . .. 146 

Shoe Scraper . 413 

Shoes, Skating, How to Make . 158 

Shoes, White, Cleaner for . 239 

Shoestring Watch Fob, How to Weave. 285 

Shot Scoop . 230 

Shower Bath, Homemade . 15 

Signals, Covering with Gold Leaf . 189 

Signals for Fishing Through Ice . 10, 380 


Silhouette Brass Plaques, Making. 217 

Silhouettes, How to Make . 68 

Silk, To Print Photographs on. 396 

Silver, Cleaning .305, 344 

Silver Plating Outfit, Small, To Make. 360 

Silver, Polishing Cloths for .. 32 

Sink or Bathtub Stopper, Substitute. 429 

Sizing a Threaded Hole . 295 

Skate Sharpener, Pocket, How to Make. 166 

Skater, Winged . 381 

Skates, Ice, Hollow Grinding. 231 

Skates, Roller, How to Make . 386 

Skates, Sharpening with a File . 306 

Skating Shoes, How to Make. 158 

Ski, Norwegian . 384 

Skidoo-Skidee Trick, Scientific Explanation of.. 162 

Skis and Ski-Toboggans, Making. 3 

Sled, Barrel Stave . 383 

Sled, Bicycle . 157 

Sled, Bicycle Coasting, How to Make. 231 

Sled, Hand, Made of Pipe and Fittings. 305 

Sled, Toboggan, How to Make .44, 384 

Sled. Yankee . 408 

Sleds, Coaster, Rocker Blocks on. 223 

Sleeve Bands, Bicycle Trouser Guards as. 283 

Sleeve Holders for Lavatories. 17 

Sleigh, Chair . 383 

Sleigh, Running . 381 

Sling, Crossbow and Arrow, How to Make. 339 

Snow House, Eskimo, How to Make. 5 

Snowshoes, Homemade . 9 

Solder with Low Melting Point. 421 

Soldering Clamps, Homemade. 137 

Soldering for the Amateur. 38 

Soldering Tool, Emergency . 28 

Spark Coil, Piercing Glass Plates with. 426 

Spectacle Case, Leather, How to Make. 228 

Spit Turned by Water Power. 102 

Splashes, Study of . 164 

Spline for Draftsman . 406 

Spoon - Rest for Kettles.24, 304 

Sport—Skis and Ski-Toboggans, Making. 3 

Sports, Winter, Devices of . 380 

Spring Board for Swimmers . 237 

Spring, Curtain Roller. IIow to Tighten.. 79 

Sprocket Wheels, Small, To Make.. 15 

Stage, Miniature, How to Make. 159 

Stains, Iodine, Removing . 425 

Stains on Book Leaves, Removing. 31 

Stamp Pad, Handle for Opening... 23 

Stamps, To Remove Paper from. 234 

Star, North, Photographing .. ..443 

Static Machine, How to Make. .. 177 

Steam Calliope, How to Make. 418 

Steam Engine Made from Gas Pipe and Fittings 184 

Steam Engine, Model . 1 

Steam Engine, Toy, How to Make. 73 

Steam Turbine, Homemade. 20 

Steamboat Model, Simple . 216 

Steel, Chisel, Annealing . 362 

Steering Wheel, Heated . 441 

Stereograph, Principles of . 186 

Stick Pin, How to Make. 164 

Still, Homemade .. 426 

Still, Simple, How to Make. 170 

Stool, Camp, How to Make. 222 

Storage Battery, Small, How to Make. 121 

Stove, Electric, How to Make.31, 273 

Stove Polish .133, 252 

Stovepipe, Cleaner for . 230 

Stoves, Cleaning . - 4 . 155 

Strainer and Ladle, Combined. 302 

Stream, Crossing on a Log. 94 

Street Car Line, Imitation, How to Build. 374 

Sundial, How to Lay Out. 261 

Sunlight, Using in Magic Lantern. 251 

Swimmers, Spring Board for. 237 

Swimming Pool, Concrete ... .. 178 

Swing and Turning Rings Combined. 283 

Swing Chair, Porch . 128 

Swing, Homemade Round. 192 

Swing, Merry-Go-Round, How to Make. 131 

Swing Seat, Child’s Homemade . 276 

Switch, Automatic Time . 80 

Switch, Battery . 99 

Switch, Electric Pendant, How to Make. 310 

Switch, Reversing for Electrical Experiments... 92 

Switeh, Simple, for Reversing a Current. Ill 

Table, Lifting . 99 

Table "Mat of Leather, How to Make. 286 














































































































































































468 


Table, Mission Library, ITow to Make. 141 

Table Pads, Asbestos . 212 

Talking Machine Reproducer, Relieving Weight 

of . 245 

Tank, Small, Aerating Water in . 241 

Target, Illuminated . 291 

Tarnish, Removing . 17 

Tea Tray, Cheesebox Cover . 18 

Teeter Board, Revolving . 297 

Telegraph and Telephone Line, Combination.... 332 

Telegraph Codes . 422 

Telegraph Instrument and Buzzer, How to Make 334 

Telegraph Key and Sounder, How to Make. 70 

Telegraph Key, Homemade .21, 283 

Telegraph Line, One Wire . 78 

Telegraph, Line. Simple Open Circuit. 59 

Telephone and Telegraph Line, Combination.... 332 

Telephone Experiment . 137 

Telephone Receiver, Homemade.55, 353 

Telephone, Receiving Wireless Telegraph Mes¬ 
sages with . 92 

Telephone, Singing . 75 

Telephone Transmitter, Homemade. 398 

Telephone, Wireless, How to Make. 432 

Telescope, How to Make. 108 

Telescope Stand and Holder. 218 

Telescope, Water, How to Make. 410 

Tent, Bell. How to Make. 190 

Tent, Lawn, Quickly Made. 398 

Tents, Weatherproofing for . 389 

Thermo Battery, How to Make . 59 

Thermo-Electric Battery, How to Make. 140 

Thermometer, Air . 152 

Thermometer Back in Etched Copper, To Make. 246 

Thermostat, Small, How to Construct. 455 

Thorns Used as Needles in a Phonograph. 453 

Thread, Cutting Inside Glass Bottle. 179 

Thread Spools, Pockets for. 13 

Time Alarm, Electric . 433 

Time Switch, Automatic . 80 

Tin, Sheet, Grooved Pulley Made from. 412 

Tinware, Rustproof . 347 

Tire Repair, Emergency . 33 

Toaster, Electric, How to Make. 37 

Toaster, Homemade . 139 

Toboggan Sled, How to Make.44, 384 

Toboggans and Skis, Making . 3 

Tool, Cutting Point of . 278 

Tool for Lifting Can Covers . 352 

Tool Hangers .. 453 

Tool, Soldering . 28 

Top, Austrian . 12 

Top, Optical . 69 

Toy, Child’s Rolling, How to Make . 224 

Toy Darts and Parachutes. 352 

Toy Flier, How to Make. 429 

Toy—Skidoo-Skidee, Scientific Explanation of. . 162 

Trailer for a Bicycle . 397 

^-Transformer, 110-Volt, How to Make. 439 

Trap for Rabbits, Rats and Mice, How to Make 395 

Trap for Small Animals . 82 

Trap, Minnow, How to Make. 390 

Trap, Mouse .112, 198, 450 

Trap, Rabbit . 233 

Trap, Rat . 290 

Trap, Self Setting, How to Make . 158 

Trays, Copper. How to Make .. 180 

Tree, Measuring the Height of. 376 

Tree Top, Building House in. 146 

Trees, Burning Inscriptions on. 45 

Trick—Balancing on Chairs . 131 

Trick—Bottle, Diving . 331 

Trick, Buttonhole . 234 

Trick—Cannon Balls, 36, Removing from Hand¬ 
bag . 256 

Trick, Card, with Tapered Deck. 70 

Trick, Coin and Card on the First Finger. 175 

Trick, Coin and Tumbler . 378 

Trick—Coin, Changing into a Button. 234 

Trick—Coin, Disappearing .176, 193 

Trick—'Coin, Moving Under a Glass. 214 

Trick—Coin, Sticking against Wall. 176 

Trick—'Coins, Dropping in a Glass Full of Water 231 

Trick—Coins, Making Stick to Wood. 287 

Trick—Cord, Buttoned . 427 

Trick—Electric Illusion Box . 135 

Trick—Electric Shock. To Give While Shaking 

Hands . 133 

Trick—Flowers, Growing . 244 

Trick—Forks, Balancing on a Pin Head. 427 


Trick — Handkerchief Mended after Being Cut and 

Torn . 

Trick—Hat, To Hang on a Lead Pencil. .. 

Trick — 'Key, Removing from a Double String. . . . 

Trick, Knot . 

Trick — Knot, Magic . 

Trick—Light, Invisible . 

Trick—Magic Box Escape. 

Trick — Magic Spirit Hand . 

Trick — Marble, Rolling . 

Trick, Mechanical, with Cards . 

Trick—'Miniature “Pepper’s Ghost” Illusion.... 

Trick — Optical Illusions . 

Trick—Paper, Withdrawing from Under an In¬ 
verted Bottle . 

Trick — Photograph of a Clown Face. 

Trick, Rising Card . 

Trick, Sack . 

Trick — Scissors. Removing from Card. 

Trick, Skidoo-Skidee . 

Trick, Stage — Levitation . 

Trick — Table, Lifting .. 

Trick—Thread, Cutting inside a Glass Bottle. . 

Trick, Vanishing Handkerchief .,. 

Trick—Violin, Making Spirits Play. 

Trick, Watch . 

Trick, Water and Wine . 

Trick with a Coin in a Wine Glass. 

Tripod Holder, Homemade . 

Trolley Coaster. Homemade Overhead . 

Trousers, Hanger for .143, 

Trunk Lock, Combination, How to Attach. 

Turbine Engine, How to Make. 

Turbine, Steam . 

Turning Rings and Swing, Combined. 

Turpentine in Cutting Oil . 

Typewriter Ribbons, Renewing . 


198 

133 

179 

167 

198 

251 

7 

2 

197 

63 

52 

74 


180 

256 

251 

175 

116 

459 

99 

179 

319 

295 

313 

244 

167 

284 

387 

369 

134 

355 

20 

283 

302 

454 


Vacuum Cleaner, New Use for . * 25 

Vacuum, Experiment with . 439 

Valve, Flush, Repairing a Washer on. 344 

Varnish for Electric Terminals . 375 

Vegetables, Preventing Burning in a Pot. 14 

Vegetable Slicer . 413 

Vehicle — Automobile, Boy’s Homemade. 430 

Vehicle — Hand Car Made of Pipe and Fittings.. 440 

Vehicle, Propelling, How to Make. 402 

Vehicle — -Wind Propeller, How to Make. 415 

Violin, Making Spirits Play. 295 

Vise, Carpenter's Homemade . 36 

Vise, Hand, How to Make_201, 211, 226, 280, 340 

Volcano, Miniature, How to Make. 448 

Voltammeter. Pocket . 330 

Voltmeter, Battery . 153 

Vulcanizing Press for Rubber Stamps. 394 


Walking Stick, Electric . 413 

Wall, Cleaning .. . . . 375 

Wall, Waterproofing . .. 229 

Wallpaper, Moldy, Cleaning . 320 

War Dance, Miniature . 255 

Washboard Holder . 39 

Washer on a Flush Valve, Repairing. 344 

Washers for Emery Wheel Arbors.. 359 

Washing Machine, Driving with Motorcycle 

Power . 219 

Watch, Demagnetizing . 166 

Watch Dial. Illuminating at Night. 149 

Watch Dials, Making Photographs on . 386 

Watch Fob, How to Make .12, 223 

Watch Fob, Shoestring, How to Weave. 285 

Watch Trick, Mystifying . 313 

Water, Aerating in Small Tank. 241 

Water and Wine Trick . 244 

Water Bicycle, How to Make .. 335 

Water Candlestick . 406 

Water Colors, To Prevent from Crawling. 54 

Water, Drowning a Dog’s Bark with. 435 

Water, Freezing in Pipes. 409 

Water Motor, Homemade . 66 , 311 

Water Power, Spit Turned by . 102 

Waterproofing a Wall . 229 

Water Rheostat .43, 78 

Water Supply, Cost of. 435 

Water Telescope, How to Make . 410 

Water Wheel Does Family Washing. 129 

Water Wheel, How to Make . 374 

Water Wings, How to Make. 202 

Wax Impressions from Seals. 450 

Wax Molds, Copies Made by Electrodeposition.. 157 
Weather Vane, Monoplane . 390 































































































































































469 


Weatherproofing for Tents. 

Weights for Athletes, How to Make!!!.'!!!!!! 

Wheel, Revolving with Boat Sails. 

Wheels, Front, of an Automobile, Greasing. 

Wheels,, Sprocket, To Make. 

Whisk Broom Holder, Sheet Metal . 

Wind Propeller, How to Make . 

Wind Vane, Electric Indicator for. 

Windmill for Practical Purposes, How to Make 

Windmill, Miniature, How to Make. 

Windmill, Musical . 

Windmill, Stationary, How to Make . 

Window Attraction—Fish and Birds Illusion. . . . 

Window Boxes, Rustic . 

Window Conservatory . 

Window Display .. 

Window Lock ... 

Window Shade, Fastening to a Roller . 

Window Shade, Repair for . 

Window Shelf for Flower Pots . 

Window Stick . 

Windows, Removing Glass Letters from. 

Windows, To Keep Free from Frost. 

Wings, Water, How to Make. 

Winter Sports, Devices of . 

Wire, Aluminum, Insulating . 

Wire Connections, Flexible, Forming Coils to 

Make . 

Wire Loop Connections for Battery Binding Posts 

Wire, Paraffin, How to . 

Wire Puzzle ... 


Wire, Removing Insulation from . 213 

Wire Terminals for Battery Connections. 168 

Wireless Coherer, Easily Made . 7i 

Wireless Messages, Quartz Electrodes Used in 

Receiving . 170 

Wireless Systems, Simple . <74 

Wireless Telegraph, How to Make .84, 121 

Wireless Telegraph Messages, To Receive with a 

Telephone . 62 

Wireless Telegraph, Short Distance. 102 

Wireless Telephone, How to Make . 432 

Wires, Drawing into Fixtures. 13 

Wires, Flexible Electric, Adjuster for. 386 

Wondergrapli, How to Make . 436 

Wood Pieces, Octagonal Wood, Block for. 293 

Wood, Staining . 221 

Woodwork, Cleaning . 317 

Work Basket, Homemade . 22 

Work Basket, Magnet for . 292 

Workbench for the Amateur . 226 

Workbench, Homemade . 442 

Wrestling Mat . 330 

Writing with Electricity . 74 

X-Ray Experiment .190^ 

X-Ray Instrument, Homemade . 151 

Yacht, Ice, How to Build .307 

Zincs, Old Battery, To Use . 87 


389 

274 

152 

320 

15 

221 

415 

348 

399 

333 

74 

445 

239 

30 

103 

22 

397 

413 

229 

292 

450 

319 

354 

202 

380 

306 

443 

449 

161 

378 


























































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Treatment Date: June 2012 


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